India-EU Summit: While India and the European Union (EU) Tuesday took a significant step Tuesday in wrapping up the talks for having a broad-based free trade agreement (FTA), Brussels continued to express concerns over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war even as it sought a greater role to be played by New Delhi in putting an end to the conflict due to India's close ties with Moscow.
'We have existential threats coming from Russia… We want this war to end. In our discussions today with our Indian counterparts we told them to really raise (sic) from their side… Ukrainians have agreed to unconditional ceasefire already a year ago. From the Russian side we only see games and they are pretending to negotiate but they are actually not negotiating,' said Kallas during her address to the Ananta Aspen Centre after both sides held the 16th India-EU Summit.
During the summit, it was decided that India and EU will ratify the free trade agreement (FTA), the negotiations for which was officially concluded on 26 January. The FTA had been under discussion since 2007.
The FTA will now have to be ratified by the respective parliaments of both sides. There are chances that the trade pact might face some hurdles when it undergoes legal scrubbing at the European Parliament due to India's proximity with Russia and purchase of crude.
'They are demanding, their absolute maximum. They are also demanding that the territories that they have conquered militarily … And this is not something that you can bring peace on,' said Kallas, adding that nearly 93 per cent of Russian targets have been civilian infrastructure in Ukraine such as schools, hospitals, residential complexes and energy infrastructure, among others.
She said Russia is carrying out such violent acts in order to 'cause as much pain to people as possible … Under international humanitarian law, this is forbidden.'
'I have explained to our Indian colleagues why Russia is doing this. They (Russia) are not looking at the battlefield… They are not conquering territories. What they want to do is to push the Ukrainians to surrender by causing as much pain,' Kallas added.
'So we have asked our Indian colleagues to put pressure on Russia. Because this war is not good even for southern countries … We both want peace and sustainable peace,' she highlighted.
However, Russia was not mentioned in the India-EU joint statement, which stated that both sides 'expressed concern over the war.'
'On Ukraine, the two sides expressed concern over the ongoing war, which continues to cause immense human suffering and carries global consequences. Both sides will continue to support efforts towards the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy, based on the principles of the UN Charter and of international law, including independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the statement said.
Author : Nayanima Basu