In a veiled attack on the United States over Russian oil purchases, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called out a “double standard,” highlighting the intricate link between international peace and global development, emphasizing that both have deteriorated concurrently, impacting the Global South.
The external affairs minister said that “threatening development we cannot facilitate peace” and urged the international community to “move the needle towards dialogue and diplomacy.”
He was speaking at a Foreign Ministers’ meeting convened under the South African presidency of the G20, where Jaishankar centred his speech on the link between peace and development.
The remarks came in the backdrop of economic measures announced by the United States. Washington has already imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, of which 25 per cent has been described as a sanction and punishment for India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Trump has also threatened additional trade restrictions on Russia, citing its ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Peace can certainly 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. Therefore, the way out is to move the needle towards dialogue and diplomacy, not in the opposite direction towards further complications,” Jaishankar told his counterparts.
Jaishankar also highlighted how the Global South has borne the brunt of higher costs for food, fuel and fertilisers.
“The costs, especially to the Global South in terms of energy, food and fertiliser security, were starkly demonstrated by ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza. Apart from jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and costs themselves became pressure points on nations. Double standards are clearly in evidence,” he said.
The Minister underlined that double standards were evident in the way some countries approached conflicts. He argued that making essentials like energy more uncertain in an already fragile economic environment “helps no one” and only deepens divisions. “Peace can certainly enable development,” he said, “but by threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace.”
Jaishankar further noted that a few nations were in a position to engage both sides in conflict and should be encouraged to do so.
“In any conflict situation, there will be a few who can engage both sides. Such countries can be utilised by the international community, both to achieve peace and to maintain it thereafter,” he added.
