Russia, Ukraine have to negotiate, India willing to give advice if they want: Jaishankar in Germany
Underlining that the Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine have to negotiate and if they want advice, India is always willing to give it.
Responding to questions at the Annual Ambassadors' Conference of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, Jaishankar said India is not "closed to business from China", but the issue is in which sectors the country does business with Beijing and on what terms.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, "We don't think this conflict is going to be resolved on the battlefield. At some stage, there's going to be some negotiation. When there is a negotiation, the main parties - Russia and Ukraine - have to be at that negotiation."
His remarks came a day after he held a "useful conversation" with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers' meeting in the Saudi capital on Monday.
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Russia and Ukraine, he said that India has said in Moscow and Kyiv that this is not an era of war.
"We don't think you're going to get a solution out of the battlefield. We think you've got to negotiate... If you want advice, we are always willing to give it...," he said, adding that countries have differences, but conflicts are not a good way to resolve them.
Later, at a joint press interaction alongside his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, Jaishankar suggested including Russia in any discussions on the issue.
"When there's a discussion, we also think it is essential to have Russia in it. Otherwise, the discussions don't gain further movement. As far as India is concerned, it's up to what the two parties want. We continuously talk to them," he said.
"What is important for us is the reality of the conflict that is taking place today. So, we are always open to any step that is serious, that's impactful and that is in our view a step towards peace," he said in response to another question.
