In his address to the high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) session at the United Nations, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for peace and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war through diplomacy. Jaishankar spoke about the Russia-Ukraine war issue and said that India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there.

Speaking at the 77th UN General Assembly, Jaishankar said, “We are often asked whose side we are on. And our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there.”

“We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles,” he said, reiterating India’s stand on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Jaishankar asserted.

Stressing on the effects that the war could have on the economy, Jaishankar said, “The repercussions of the ongoing Ukraine conflict have further heightened economic stresses, especially on food and energy.”

At the 77th UN General Assembly, the Indian External Affairs Minister also emphasized how India advocates a ‘zero- tolerance’ approach towards terrorism.

“Having borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero- tolerance’ approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious, can ever cover up blood stains,” he said.

“Those who politicize the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril,” Jaishankar said at UNGA.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 16 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, where he told the Russian leader that “today’s era is not of war”. He said that he spoke to Putin on the phone and emphasised that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue are “things that touch the world”.