ISLAMABAD – The foreign ministers of Russia, India, and China on Tuesdayparticipated in a special videoconference session called by Moscow tocommemorate the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in theSecond World War and the creation of the United Nations.
Respecting international law, recognising the legitimate interests ofpartners, supporting multilateralism, and promoting the common good are theonly way of building a durable world order, said India’s External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar at a RIC conference.
After a violent standoff between India and China in the Galwan Valley,where 20 Indian soldiers were killed, it was being anticipated that Indiamight not take part in the RIC conference.
Talking about the developments at RIC, Sanjay Kumar Pandey, professor atthe Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, says the Indian external affairs minister’s opening statementat RIC is an oblique reference to what India sees as breach ofinternational norms and laws and bilateral agreements. RIC is veryimportant for the three countries and Russia will make sure that theplatform remains viable for the three countries, he says.
Nevertheless, Jaishankar made it clear at the conference, where twopermanent members of the UN Security Council were sitting, that the”leading voices of the world must be exemplars in every way”.
The statement comes as India and China have been accusing each other ofviolating a consensus reached on 6 June to disengage from the contestedsite of the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. Despite the agreement, a violent clashbroke out on 15 June in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
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Speculations around Russia’s role in diffusing the current border tensionbetween India and China began making the rounds last week when theconference was announced.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his remarks at the conferencestated that India and China “don’t need any help from outside” and they can”solve them on their own”.
Bali R. Deepak, professor at the Centre of Chinese and Southeast AsianStudies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, says: “It (RIC) is not a platformto discuss bilateral issues because these are multilateral forums andmultilateral issues of cooperation are discussed. But maybe in private,perhaps there could be discussions, maybe very brief, on the ongoingstandoff and as far as Russia’s mediation is concerned, I don’t thinkRussia will because it has equally good relations with both countries. Itmay request both the countries to de-escalate. That is the maximum Russiacan do”. -Sputnik
