Jaishankar termed the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israeli cities as ‘terrorism’ and also supported a two-state solution to the Palestine issue through dialogue.
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‘Good prospects do not appear’
“I have come to the conclusion that this is a very complex situation but there are many possibilities, which are not entirely clear – good possibilities do not appear,” he said at the ‘Hindustan Times Leadership Summit’.
When asked whether the current crisis will affect the implementation of the ambitious India-West Asia-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project launched under the ‘I2U2’ group? Jaishankar said it would be too early to draw any definite or even semi-definite conclusions.
“Certainly unforeseen problems can be of a serious nature and we are seeing that now…and if you have a big goal and a big plan, you immediately start rethinking it,” he said.
The foreign minister said, “I think you have continued to push your ‘master plan’. You work. Whatever has happened there, you react together.
India is one of the worst victims of terrorism
He also justified the decision to abstain from voting on a resolution brought to the United Nations General Assembly on the Hamas-Israel conflict. “If you ask the average Indian, terrorism is an issue that is very close to people’s hearts because very few countries or societies suffer from terrorism as much as we do,” Jaishankar said.
“When there were further developments and Israeli (soldiers) moved into Gaza, I think we also accepted in principle that any action must comply with international humanitarian law,” he said.
The United Nations General Assembly last week adopted a resolution calling for an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire between Israeli troops and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A two-state solution would lead to an independent viable Palestine.
Jaishankar said, “When the issue of Palestine came up, we again took a very clear stand that the solution we see is a two-state solution. (There will be) an independent viable Palestine. This can only happen through direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel.