Germany urges India to engage with Russia, make peace return to Europe

By Anjali Sharma

WASHINGTON- German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday said that “We Europeans are doing our best working with our American and Ukrainian friends to ensure that this war ends soon and Ukraine finds peace as a sovereign statd.”.

He strongly backed India’s fight against terrorism, Wadephul praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a speedy peace agreement in Ukraine, urged New Delhi to influence its relations with Russia to make peace return to Europe.

German Minister was addressing a joint media briefing with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after  their bilateral talks in New Delhi, he said “For us in Germany and Europe, Russia’s war of aggression remains right now the biggest challenge to our security policy. The fact that Prime Minister Modi, when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin a couple of days ago, also pointed to the need for a speedy peace agreement in Ukraine has been important to us.”

“I spoke out in favour today that India uses its relations with Russia to point to the need to make peace return to Europe. I’m grateful for the open discussion we had today, and peace is the basis for security, freedom and prosperity. Security, anyway or generally speaking, is and will remain a challenge for the future, and we are pleased that in the vicinity of India too, a ceasefire has come to apply,” he added.

Jaishankar said India also did a review of the global situation, of regional issues, of multilateral that included the Ukraine conflict, West Asia/Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. “These were very useful and I must say I really appreciated Minister Wadephul’s insights on many of these subjects,” he said.

“Today we see the world facing the twin challenges of economic volatility and political uncertainty. We believe that a multi-polar world with strategic autonomy can best respond through more intensive consultations and cooperation among key member states,” he said.

Jaishankar emphasized the significance of the India-Germany relationship, stating that Germany, as the largest country in the European Union, plays a central role in India’s global calculations, adding that for New Delhi, “this is an enormously important relationship.”

“We have important strategic relationships with a number of countries, and it’s in the nature of global politics or global strategy today that each one of these relationships would be maintained and optimized. So to me, both Germany in itself and Germany as the biggest country of the European Union are obviously central to the calculations and to the relationships that we have in the world,” he said.

“For us, this is an enormously important relationship. This relationship is growing in substance and I can see at this time of uncertainties that actually it has a greater value. It’s a very steady relationship. It is a relationship where largely what we promise to each other and policies that we have remain constant and predictable. So predictability today has a huge premium in global politics,” Jaishankar said.

German Foreign Minister assured that Germany stands firmly on India’s side in its fight against terrorism.

“When it comes to India defending itself against terrorism, Germany continues to be firmly at your side,” he said.

Jaishankar said India greatly values the understanding shown by Germany regarding its fight against terrorism.

He highlighted that Germany’s Foreign Minister has been explicit regarding India’s right to defend its people against terrorist attacks.

“During the day today, we have had detailed discussions on various aspects of our ties. This includes our political cooperation, security and defence, economic relations, research and future technologies, climate and energy as well as education, skilling, mobility and people-to-people exchanges. So let me share with you some key points which came out of today’s discussion,” he said.

EAM stated “One, we greatly value the understanding that Germany has shown with regard to India’s fight against terrorism. Minister Wadephul has himself been explicit about our right to defend our people against terrorist attacks. Our Parliamentary delegation that visited Germany in June after Operation Sindoor was also warmly received.”