The crisis in Ukraine figured prominently in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting British counterpart Liz Truss on Thursday. In her opening comments, Truss said it is important to respect the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.
In his remarks, Jaishankar talked about the progress in the implementation of the Roadmap 2030 that was adopted in May last year to further broadbase ties. Ahead of the talks, the British High Commission, in a statement, said Truss will convey to Jaishankar that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underlines the importance of democracies to work together to deter “aggressors” and reduce vulnerability to “coercion”.
“Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is in India today as part of a wider diplomatic push following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last month,” the statement said. “In a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the foreign secretary will say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underlines the importance of democracies working closer together to deter aggressors, reduce vulnerability to coercion and strengthen global security,” it added.
There has been a flurry of visits by foreign dignitaries to India in the last few days. US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh arrived in the country on Wednesday, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to land in New Delhi on Thursday evening. According to the statement of the British High Commission, Truss wants to “counter” Russia’s aggression and reduce global strategic dependence on the country ahead of the key NATO and G7 meetings next week.
“Deeper ties between Britain and India will boost security in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and create jobs and opportunities in both countries,” Truss was quoted as saying in the statement. “This matters even more in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for free democracies to work closer together in areas like defence, trade and cyber security,” she said.
The India-UK relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK virtual summit held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson in May last year. In the summit, the two sides adopted a 10-year roadmap to expand ties in the key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections.
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