'West Armed Pakistan for 40 Years': S Jaishankar's Sharp Rejoinder at US Event

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday reminded the West of aiding Pakistan for about 40 years. Speaking at an event in the US, the External Minister - when asked about relations with - Russia, said, "We actually had a 40-year period where the West was primarily arming Pakistan, and we turned to the Soviet Union as a military partner."

"We've never really had anything other than a positive experience with the Soviet Union and then with Russia. I think something that's very much on the minds of America is India's relationship with Russia. Now, we're all, I think, familiar with history, the legacy, the background to the bilateral relationship, the long-standing strong ties," he added.

Furthermore, when asked about India's relationship and partnership with he US, the EAM said, "So there is today, I would say, a kind of a geopolitical case for the relationship, a military security case, economic one as well. Now, how do you reconcile this with a growing relationship with the US? I would even say growing relationship with Europe, because that relationship has also grown. As I said, look, it's a multipolar world, different poles deal with each other."

"We're no longer in a world where the relationships are exclusive. Every country wants to get the best out of the international order in the most effective way it can. So it requires a certain amount of care, and I would say perhaps dexterity to manage it," he added.

'Don't Believe Solution Will Come From Battlefield': Jaishankar

When asked to speak on what is Indian doing to help solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said, "We believe that wars are not the way of settling disputes. We don't believe that a solution is going to come from the battlefield."

"And from those assessments, we have been engaging both the Russian Government and the Ukrainian Government in Moscow and in Kyiv and in other places to see whether there is something we can do which would hasten the end of the conflict and initiate some kind of serious negotiation between them.” HE SAID.

He added that this is a kind of exploration that India has been doing. "It’s not that we have a peace plan. We are not suggesting anything. We are having these conversations and sharing these conversations with the other side. My sense is both sides appreciate it."