India's Foreign Minister Affirms Good Relations with Major World Powers, Except China
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar assured New Delhi had good relations with major global powers, with the exception of China, which, he said, violated border management agreements.
Jaishankar said China’s violations led to India having the largest peacetime deployment of troops on the disputed frontier, in an interview with Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
The tension between the two countries over the Line of Actual Control (LAC), or a 3,500-kilometer-long border that runs through the Himalayas, has been ongoing since the 1950s, resulting in a war in 1962. Although there have been clashes in recent years, tensions have eased since military and diplomatic talks.
Jaishankar said India's relationship with Russia remains steady despite turbulence in global politics over the war in Ukraine.
India has maintained a neutral position on Russia’s invasion and has attempted to seek a diplomatic resolution while simultaneously increasing its purchase of Russian oil in the past year.
For decades, Russia has been India's most significant supplier of military equipment, and the fourth-largest market for Indian pharmaceutical products.
Jaishankar said “the world is still very divided on the Ukraine war” and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to create momentum toward a peaceful resolution.
His interview comes days before the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of 20 nations (G-20) in New Delhi, on March first, which senior Chinese government officials are also due to attend.
