External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently discussed global issues with Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera while attending the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, Italy.
Mr. Jaishankar emphasised India's reliance on Italy's support in its engagement with the European Union, highlighting the EU as India's largest trade partner and key investor. He also touched on the Joint Strategic Action Plan announced by the Prime Ministers of India and Italy.
He stressed the importance of cooperation on trade matters, despite the complexities arising from the EU's tendency to introduce non-trade issues in negotiations, stating that the EU "brings up many non-trade issues in the negotiations, it is more complicated than a normal FTA".
Regarding India's purchase of below-market-price oil from Russia, Mr. Jaishankar argued that each country has its own interests. He pointed out, "If everything is a matter of such a deep principle, then Europe itself should have cut off all its business with Russia, but it doesn't do that." He also said that countries need to see how a particular action might impact them.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, the country "highlights its unwavering support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, full sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders and its proactive engagement within the Euro-Atlantic community efforts to support Ukraine." On the subject of the war, Mr. Jaishankar emphasised that diplomacy is key to working out the Russia-Ukraine war, and that negotiation is essential for finding a solution.
He said, "You're not going to get a solution from the battlefield, right? We have to negotiate. At some stage, people will come to the table. The sooner they do it, the better, because the rest of the world is affected", which is why, he added, India is trying to make an effort and talk to both sides.
"This is putting the entire international system under great stress," Mr. Jaishankar said, and advocated that countries need to keep trying to solve the conflicts in Ukraine and in West Asia by taking initiatives to find common ground instead of being "spectators", stressing the need to find something better than what we have today.
