The government today said that India’s position on the Ukraine-Russia conflict is well-known and understood as well. It said India has always advocated for sincere and practical engagement between the two parties and other key stakeholders through dialogue and diplomacy to arrive at and find a lasting resolution for the conflict. Briefing media in New Delhi this evening, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, India’s conversations with both parties to the conflict, as well as with other stakeholders, have been in line with this larger approach. 

Replying to a query on India-EU collaboration, Mr Jaiswal said, The president of the European Union visited India last month. He said defence is an important area of collaboration with the European Union for India, and this partnership is expanding. The spokesperson said India wants to give a boost to its defence exports and hopes that it will be able to do more in this regard with the European Union and countries in Europe as well.

On India-China talks, Mr Jaiswal said that since the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, both sides had a constructive engagement at the level of the External Affairs Minister, the National Security Advisor and the Foreign Secretary, who also travelled to China in January, where he met his counterpart. He said, subsequent to the foreign secretary’s visit, the external affairs minister met and discussed with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 in Johannesburg. Mr Jaiswal said India and China have agreed that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will start this year, and talks are on the modalities.

On Pakistan, the MEA spokesperson said, The world clearly knows that the real issue is Pakistan’s active promotion and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism. He said, in fact, this is the biggest roadblock to peace and security in the region. On Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Mr Jaiswal said, Ms Gabbard met with the Raksha Mantri, and they discussed security and defence cooperation.

The spokesperson said she also met with the external affairs minister and the national security advisor. He said that during her meeting with her interlocutors in India, New Delhi conveyed its concerns regarding anti-India elements and the anti-India activities of secessionist elements in Washington.