‘War anywhere is threat to peace everywhere’: Jaishankar pushes for dialogue and diplomacy as Ukraine, West Asia conflicts continue

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday raised concerns over the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia and said that a “war anywhere is threat to peace everywhere’, while drawing attention to the far-reaching impact of the wars on people and economies across the world.

“India’s position that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only way to resolve conflicts,” reiterated Jaishankar while speaking at the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan in Delhi on the occasion of UN Day.

“There are today two major conflicts going on in the world: in Ukraine and in West Asia, or the Middle East. Societies and economies, peoples far away who have little say in the matter, are actually paying the cost,” the minister said.

‘We cannot remain helpless spectators’

Jaishankar emphasised that the international community could not afford to remain a silent spectator and said India was making its own efforts towards resolving the conflicts and was willing to work with other countries to restore peace.

“We cannot remain helpless spectators. India expresses global sentiment when we urge that dialogue and diplomacy are the only solution. We are making efforts ourselves and are open to working with other partners to that end,” he added.

Jaishankar said progress and prosperity are interconnected, particularly in the world today when there is dependence on global supply chains, markets and shared resources.

“The world cannot advance half prosperous and half denied in an era of intricate supply chains, of globalised markets, and of common resources. This is simply a prescription for continuous instability,” he added.

‘Terrorism another deadly threat to peace, can never be justified’

The external affairs minister also highlighted terrorism as another major threat to global peace and stressed India’s stance that extremism could never be justified or rationalised and should not be used as an “instrument of statecraft”.

He also called for greater global awareness of the threat posed by terrorism and stronger collective resolve to counter it “in all its forms and manifestations”, stressing that political considerations could not justify the use of terror.

‘Terrorism continues because not all states really display zero tolerance’

Jaishankar said terrorism continues because “not all states really display zero tolerance” towards it, and some still continue to prioritise political calculations despite the lessons of history.

“Terrorism is another deadly threat to peace. Its usage as an instrument of statecraft is simply unacceptable. It can never be justified. It can never be rationalised. Yet, it continues because not all states really display zero tolerance. Despite history, holding so many lessons, some still allow political calculations to take precedence,” he said, while calling for greater global awareness and stronger collective action to counter terrorism in all its forms.

Jaishankar’s remarks come days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Washington’s closer ties with Pakistan, arguing that engagement with Islamabad could give Washington greater influence over its decisions, including on terrorism. “I think it allows us to have, hopefully, more influence over the decisions they make on a variety of topics,” Rubio said, adding that “no country in the world does more to go after terrorism than the United States”.