Old friends Jaishankar & Blinken 'catch up' on Quad Summit sidelines; talk Ukraine & more

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on the sidelines of the Quad leaders summit in Tokyo, Japan, for a “catch up” session. Accompanying US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respectively for the fourth QUAD summit, Blinken and Jaishankar on Tuesday “continued” their conversation on the Ukraine conflict along with its “knock-on effects”. Sharing the duo’s image, Jaishankar said that he would work with Blinken to “take forward the QUAD understandings”. 

Jaishankar & Blinken have spoken repeatedly of how closely they have worked together on the minutiae of the Indo-US relationship which has strengthened immeasurably over the last few decades, particularly since the 9/11 terror attack when the US began its tilt away from strategic ties with Pakistan and India also moved to further its relationship of democracies with America. This relationship has now come a long way, transcending changes in government, and has shown itself to be resilient and mature in the face of differences in stance over the Ukraine war, with the US being vehemently anti-Russia and India holding its ground that dialogue and diplomacy is the only way to resolve the conflict, while retaining the right to keep its historic ties with Russia intact. Jaishankar & Blinken have referred to each other as 'Jai' and 'Tony' on numerous public platforms over the last year.  

Meanwhile, the Quad leaders including PM Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and newly sworn-in Australian PM Anthony Albanese showcased a united front over a range of issues. The Japanese PM even stressed that “We should not let what’s happening in Ukraine happen in Indo-Pacific” in the opening remarks of the meeting after he received the other three leaders in Tokyo. 

Addressing the press ahead of the summit, the Japanese PM said that the Indo-Pacific should avoid aggression similar to Russia’s. Kishida underscored, “Showing QUAD commitment to free, open Indo-Pacific important.” He also said, “We should listen carefully to voices of the countries in the ASEAN, South Asia as well as the Pacific Island countries, so as to further advance cooperation, conducive to solving urgent issues facing the vision (for Indo-Pacific Region)."  

Kishida also noted, “Russian invasion of Ukraine squarely challenges the principles which are enshrined in the UN Charter”.

Jaishankar-Blinken followed up on talks after in-person meetings in April

As mentioned, prior to their meeting in Tokyo, Blinken and Jaishankar have been in touch over the Russia-Ukraine war. Most recently, in April, the US Secretary of State and EAM met alongside US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for a 2+2 ministerial dialogue. Jaishankar and Singh had travelled to the United States when the leaders exchanged views on several topics. 

Following the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between Blinken, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, US Secretary of State averred that Washington would continue to call on nations to support Kyiv as the war with Moscow continued to escalate. He had said the US would urge nations to back Ukraine “just as we call on all nations to condemn Moscow's increasingly brutal actions.”

Standing alongside Jaishankar, Singh, and Austin, Blinken had called, “Russia's war against Ukraine is an attack on Ukraine's people. It's also an attack on that rules-based order that we both adhere to and defend.”

In that heated press conference, EAM Jaishankar had also offered strong rebuttals to reporters who questioned India’s energy imports from Russia. Jaishankar said, “I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe, which probably means we do buy some energy which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon. So you might want to think about that.”

"Now, as Secretary Blinken has pointed out, we have made a number of statements which outline our position in the UN, in our parliament, and in other forums. And briefly, what those positions state is that we’re against the conflict; we are for dialogue and diplomacy; we are for an urgent cessation of violence; and we are prepared to contribute in multiple ways to these objectives,” said the External Affairs Minister.

(Image: Twitter)