Everyone seems to be a fan of witty replies and scholarly outlook of Dr S Jaishankar. And guess who his latest fan is? Well, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Jaishankar ‘a real patriot’
During an interview with India Today, Sergey Lavrov said, “EAM Jaishankar is a seasoned diplomat and a real patriot of his country when he said “we will be taking the decision for our country on the basis of what India believes it needs for its development for its security”. Not too many countries can say something like this.”
Sergey Lavrov showers praise on India
Probably given Jaishankar’s masterful diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov lavished praise on India. He said, “India is our very, very old friend. We called our relationship a long ago as ‘strategic partnership’. Then about 20 years ago, India said why don’t we call it ‘privileged strategic partnership’? And sometimes later, India said let’s call it an ‘especially privileged strategic partnership’. This is a unique description of any bilateral relationship.”
Talking about Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Sergey Lavrov said, “With India, we supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concept of ‘Make in India’. We started substituting the simple trade with local production, shifting production of the goods needed by India on their territory.”
He also assured that India will get all possible cooperation in the defence sector. The Russian Foreign Minister said, “On defense, we can provide anything India wants, and technology transfer in the context of defense cooperation is absolutely unprecedented for any of India’s outside partners.”
Jaishankar’s masterful diplomacy on show again
Lavrov’s remarks reflect that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has once again managed to help India strengthen its position in the world with his skilful diplomacy.
Read more: Jaishankar makes it clear to US, “You’re barking up the wrong tree”
Over the recent past, Jaishankar has helped India assert itself on the global stage again and again. We saw three big examples of his masterful diplomacy-
- Telling the West that India cannot be hounded for buying discounted oil from Russia, because Europe itself remains a massive purchaser of Russian energy.
- Telling the Biden administration that India won’t take any condescending behaviour about its internal issues, and if US Secretary of State Antony Blinken can talk about the human rights situation in India then India too can talk about its concerns about human rights in the US.
- Telling the Biden administration that CAATSA is an internal issue of the United States and it is for them to sort it out. So, India won’t tolerate American bullying over Russian arms purchases and if the US has to continue its special relationship with India, then it will have to make the necessary adjustments.
Add a fourth achievement to Dr S. Jaishankar’s list of recent achievements. Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war started, there were a lot of doubts about Russia’s ability to keep supplying arms, spares and other military hardware to India. Since all three of India’s military services continue to operate several Russian platforms, India will need undisrupted Russian military supplies for at least the coming decade.
Read more: Social media reactions suggest that Dr S Jaishankar is now a darling of the masses
Therefore, the Russia-Ukraine war could have affected India’s defence preparedness. However, the way Sergey Lavrov has lavished praise on Jaishankar, it seems that Indian diplomacy has managed to take Moscow in confidence. And then, the Russian Foreign Minister has also said that “we can provide anything India wants.” Therefore, a major issue that had cropped up for India has been resolved by none other than its External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.