Jaishankar says India looking for partners, not preachers; highlights New Delhi's 'Russia realism'

New Delhi | India is looking for "partners" and not "preachers", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday, in a veiled message to Europe in the context of the conflict in Ukraine as he explained nuances of New Delhi's "Russia realism" and why the relationship between the two sides is an "important fit".

In an interactive session, Jaishankar, delving into broader geopolitical upheavals, said Europe has "entered a certain zone of a reality check" and must display some sensitivity and mutuality of interest for deeper ties with India.

India always advocated for "Russia realism" and there is an "important fit" and "complementarity" between India and Russia as a resource provider and consumer, he said in remarks that came amid persistent efforts by the Trump administration to strike a ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv.

In the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, New Delhi remained engaged with Moscow and enhanced its procurement of Russian crude oil which triggered criticism from the West. India, however, maintained its ties with Russia are driven by national interests.

The external affairs minister also criticised earlier attempts by the West to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict without involving Russia, saying it "challenged the basics of realism".

"Just like I am an advocate of Russia realism, I am also an advocate of America realism," he said at the 'Arctic Circle India Forum'.

"I think the best way to engage today's America is also through finding mutuality of interests rather than putting ideological differences upfront and then allowing it to cloud the possibilities of working together," he said.

The external affairs minister was broadly delving into the global consequences of developments in the Arctic and how the changing world order impacts the region.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said India has always been "very careful not to prescribe a solution".

"We have not told one or the other party to do this or do that. And that is important to remember because that is a courtesy that is not always granted to us. So we get advice on what we should be doing," he said, in another dig at the West.

Answering a question on India's expectations from Europe, Jaishankar said it has to get beyond preaching and start acting based on a framework of mutuality.

"When we look out at the world, we look for partners; we do not look for preachers, particularly preachers who do not practice at home and preach abroad," he said.

"I think some of Europe is still struggling with that problem. Some of it has changed." The external affairs minister said Europe has "entered a certain zone of reality check".

"Now whether they are able to step up to it or not, it is something we will have to see," he said.

"But from our point of view, if we are to develop a partnership, there has to be some understanding, there has to be some sensitivity, there has to be a mutuality of interest and there has to be a realisation of how the world works," he noted.

"And I think these are all work in progress to differing degrees with different parts of Europe. So some have moved further, some a little bit less," Jaishankar said.

On India-Russia ties, he said there is such an "important fit and complementarity" between the two countries as a "resource provider and resource consumer".

"Where Russia is concerned, we have always taken a view that there is a Russia realism that we have advocated." "When passions were very high (in) 2022, 2023... if one looks back at that period, the kind of predictions and scenarios which were put forward have turned out not to be well founded," he said The external affairs minister criticised the thinking of the West in the past that a solution to the conflict in Ukraine could emerge without involving Russia.

"The idea that you will get a solution out of Russia without inviting Russia challenged the basics of realism. We have always felt that there is a need to engage Russia. Nobody wants war, particularly in a very interdependent world. These are lose-lose situations," he said.

"I think for us, to engage Russia, if there is any way we can be of help, we have always been very open about it." "Having said that, we have always been very careful not to prescribe a solution." Jaishankar said India is not necessarily siding with one party or the other.

"But we always felt that international relations are conducted on the basis of some fundamental realism and that realism requires an engagement with Russia," he said.