‘Solution cannot be found on battlefield’: Jaishankar on Russia-Ukraine war

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said India’s position in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been that a solution cannot be found on the battlefield and New Delhi wants to find a way of bringing this conflict to an end.

Responding to a question on India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict during his interaction with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Jaishankar said that there are “no winners of a conflict”.

“We took the position from the start, that you’re not going to get a solution to this conflict on the battlefield,” he said.

“At the end of the day, every party and a lot of innocent bystanders or other nations also get ruined or affected. One way or the other by conflict. So, our position has been here to find a way of bringing this conflict to an end,” he said, adding that “very honestly, in some circles, this was not a very popular position at that time”.

On the Israel-Hamas conflict, Jaishankar said what happened on October 7 was terrorism, referring to the multi-front attack by the Palestinian militant group in southern Israel.

“On the other hand, nobody would, you know, countenance the deaths of innocent civilians. Countries may be justified at least in their own minds and response, but you cannot have a response which does not take into account something called international humanitarian law,” he said.

“And the fact is, that whatever the rights and wrongs of the issue, there is the underlying issue of the rights of the Palestinians and the fact that they have been denied their homeland,” he added.

“We have also been the country who have the opportunity to talk to the Russians very frankly and bluntly on this (Ukraine) issue on different aspects. You know, others have used us to pass messages. And by the way, the same thing applies when it comes to the Gaza-Israel conflict as well,” he said.

During his address, Jaishankar said India and Malaysia are by nature “pluralistic”. He also talked about his meeting with Malaysia’s top leadership and hoped that the ties would be further strengthened.

He also held a “productive” round-table meeting with CEOs in Malaysia.

“Glad to hear about growing interest in partnering with Indian industries. Encouraged them to join in India’s growth story. Discussed geopolitical developments that can provide more opportunities in India-Malaysia business interactions,” he said in a post on X.

The minister also met SA Vigneswaran, President of Malaysian Indian Congress, and the bloc’s members and thanked them for their continued support towards nurturing closer India-Malaysia ties.

“Received YB Senator @KSaraswathy24, Vice President of @KEADILAN and other senior members earlier today in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciated their commitment for deepening India-Malaysia cooperation in various domains,” he said in another post.

Jaishankar is in Kuala Lumpur on the third and last leg of his three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.