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India must pressure Russia to end Ukraine war: Estonian foreign minister
Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said India has a huge responsibility as a global player to help end the Ukraine war that began almost four years ago
TALLINN: Estonia expects India to exert pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine and secure a lasting peace, its foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said, putting the spotlight on what he described as an existential threat from Russia to the European Union.
As a global player, India has a huge responsibility to help end the war that began almost four years ago, he said.
“If India takes a clear position, it will help Europe and it will help Ukraine. It has the opportunity to talk to Russia, given its historical relations with Moscow. You signed several agreements during President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Delhi. But at the same time, India can pressure Russia to have a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he said, during an interaction with a group of visiting Indian journalists.
New Delhi’s stated position is that Russia and Ukraine should end hostilities and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to find a solution to the conflict.
“Russia is an existential problem we need to talk about. If you put yourself in a position where you have a big neighbour who is waging war and aggression against another neighbour…carrying out hybrid attacks constantly, it is an existential question for you. And if you (India) would like to have good relations with the other partner (Europe) who has this existential question, we need to look into that together as well,” Tsahkna said.
Peace talks anchored in a US-proposed plan have not yielded a breakthrough thus far.
At the India-Russia Summit on December 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Putin India’s support for all efforts aimed at a negotiated settlement of the conflict.
“Since the beginning, India has consistently advocated for peace with regards to the situation in Ukraine. We welcome all efforts being made for a peaceful and lasting resolution... India has always been, and will always be ready to contribute,” Modi said at the time.
India can contribute significantly to achieving peace in Ukraine because of its democratic values and understanding of the UN Charter, Tsahkna said, speaking in the context of principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.
“But there are some questions from the European side about Indian political and economic relations with Russia, including defence industry cooperation. This is a question about trust. India is a huge country, it is a big economy and Europe is very much interested in (building) relations with India…but we need to talk about these issues as well,” he added.
Estonia, a former Soviet republic, is roughly the size of north Indian state Haryana, has a population of around 1.3 million, and shares its eastern border with Russia.
(The writer was in Tallinn on the invitation of the Estonian ministry of foreign affairs.)
