‘Not a zero-sum game’: Jaishankar on India’s ties with Russia, United States

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said it is not in India’s interest to be tied down in exclusive relationships.

“It’s not in our interest to be tied down to exclusive relationships…because we have a tradition of strong ties with Russia, that should not become a burden or an obstacle to an equally strong relationship with the United States…I do not see our relationships as a kind of zero-sum game”, the minister said at an event in Kolkata.

“We are credible today as the voice of the global south. We are also perceived as a very strong democratic power. So our technology relevance is very important for the developed world”, Jaishankar was quoted by ANI as saying.

Jaishankar’s remarks comes days after he hailed India-Russia ties, calling it steady despite turbulences. “We have made our own evaluation over the years regarding the importance of this. It is a mistake to dumb down ties with Russia to just defence dependence. We have an upswing in the economic part of our relations with Russia”, the minister said on Tuesday.

India is now Europe’s largest supplier of refined fuels while simultaneously buying record amounts of Russian crude oil. Europe’s reliance on Indian crude oil products has grown since the ban on Russian oil.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone on a three-day State visit to the United States, wherein he held bilateral talks with US president Joe Biden. The area of technology cooperation was a major takeaway from the prime minister’s visit.