New York: The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are costing the Global South “in terms of energy, food and fertiliser security”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday.
These conflicts are not just “jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and costing”, they have become “pressure points on nations”, he said.
Jaishankar also spoke out against “double standards” in global responses to conflicts and warned against making energy “more uncertain in an economically fragile situation”.
“Double standards are clearly in evidence….Peace can enable development, but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace. Making energy and other essentials more uncertain in an economically fragile situation helps no one,” he said.
The minister did not directly mention India but said that countries maintaining relationships with multiple parties in conflicts could serve a constructive purpose.
“In any conflict situation, there will be a few who have the ability to engage both sides. Such countries can be utilised by the international community to achieve peace and to maintain it,” he said.
His comments come at a time when US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Zelenskky have both called on India and China to reduce Russian energy purchases. Trump labelled both nations “primary funders” of Russia’s war effort at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy, however, said that New Delhi is “mostly with us” and expressed hope that Trump could help change India’s attitude towards the Russian energy sector through diplomatic engagement.
Jaishankar went on to address broader issues of current international systems and approaches to global challenges.
“As we confront conflict, economic pressures and terrorism, the limitations of multilateralism and the United Nations are visible. The need for reforming multilateralism has never been greater,” he said.
He emphasised the G20’s responsibility in providing stability, arguing it could best be achieved “by undertaking dialogue and diplomacy, by firmly combating terrorism, and by appreciating the need for stronger energy and economic security.”
Jaishankar also called terrorism “a perennial disruptor of peace”, demanding zero tolerance.
“It is imperative that the world display neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities. Those who act against them on any front render a larger service to the international community as a whole,” he said.
