Expansion of Nato and the dynamics between Russia and Europe

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the situation in Ukraine is rooted in post-Soviet politics, NATO expansion, and Russian-European dynamics, amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West following Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent states.

He remarked on Tuesday, during an interactive session at a think-tank in Paris, that the globe is currently experiencing "many crises," and that these changes have resulted in new challenges to the international order. Separately, Jaishankar said in an interview published Monday in the French daily Le Figaro that the crisis in Ukraine is the product of a complex chain of events over the last 30 years, and that most countries are seeking a diplomatic solution.

When asked why India has not criticized the concentration of Russian forces on Ukraine's borders, Jaishankar stated, “The situation in Ukraine is the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last 30 years. Most countries, such as India and France, which are very active, are seeking a diplomatic solution,” he said.”The real question is: are you mobilised to find a good solution or are you content with posturing? India can talk with Russia, with other countries, within the UN security council and support initiatives like those of France.”

The Ukraine conflict intensified as Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that two Ukrainian separatist regions would be recognized as separate entities. In his speech to the French Institute of International Relations, Jaishankar went into great detail about the rapidly growing Indo-French relationship, saying that India sees France as a "trusted" partner in combating a wide range of security threats, from the seabed to space, and from cyber to the oceans.

He said, “I can assert with genuine confidence that it (Indo-French ties) are the strongest now since our journey as an independent nation began 75 years ago,” he said. “Through the tumult of our times, India’s relations with France have continued to move forward on a steady and clear course. It is a relationship that is free from sudden shifts and surprises that we sometimes see in other cases”

In India, the external affairs minister stated that there is a high level of trust and confidence in the relationship. After India's nuclear tests in 1998, he mentioned France displaying a grasp of India's "strategic compulsions." He further added, “French support played an important role in India getting an exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 to resume international cooperation in civil nuclear energy.”

When asked to make a comparison between the Ukraine crisis and the situation in Taiwan, Jaishankar remarked that different situations have different histories, circumstances, and participants and that transferring concerns from one theater to another might be deceptive. ”Both are products of very complex histories of that particular region. In the case of Ukraine, a lot of it derives from the post-Soviet politics, the expansion of NATO, the dynamics between Russia and Europe, and Russia and the West broadly,” he said.

“I think, in the case of Taiwan, it is a product of what happened in Chinese history and what happened the way the Cold war and other developments played out in Asia,” he said.

Both parties undertook 13 rounds of military negotiations on the eastern Ladakh border dispute with China, according to Jaishankar, and significant progress was made in many of the friction points as a result. At the same time, he acknowledged that some snags needed to be ironed out. India, according to Jaishankar, has made it plain that it will not consent to any change in the status quo and will not allow any unilateral attempts to modify the Line of Actual Control.

“So however complex it is, however long it takes, however difficult it is, that clarity is what guides us and I would say other than optimism, it is also very important to have perseverance,” he replied in response to a question about whether he was optimistic about the row's resolution. When asked about India's position on the AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) trilateral security organization, Jaishankar did not respond directly. He believes it is critical for democratic countries with shared values and interests to collaborate in a cooperative manner.

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