Passing Through Difficult Phase With Big Neighbour China, But Mutual Respect Must: EAM Jaishankar

EAM Jaishankar said that India's relationship with Russia has been very good and it would be a "mistake" to reduce its importance.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that China is a "big neighbour" to India but there must be respect for each other's interests. "At the end of the day, the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship. And the state of the border today is still abnormal," he said.

"China has been a difficult swing. It's a big neighbour, but at the end of the day, any relation has to be based on a high degree of mutuality and there must be respect for each other's interests and adherence to agreements. It is this departure from what was agreed between us, which is at the heart of the difficult phase that we are passing through with China today," Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Drawing a contrast between India's ties with China and that with the US, Jaishankar said relations with the latter have been "exceptionally good". Jaishankar cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent maiden state visit to the White House, and said it was the most productive visit by an Indian Prime Minister. "Today, it's a very polarised world, and the global stage is so much more challenging... Our relations with the United States are exceptionally well. We have had the most productive visit in history," he said.

"We have moved into a positive domain with the US for shaping the world for common purposes. The attention being given to Europe is remarkable... The big issue before us is concluding the Free Trade Agreement... We are more hopeful than ever before," he added.

Jaishankar also said that India's relationship with Russia has been very good and it would be a "mistake" to reduce its importance. "Our relations with Russia have been kept steady despite all turbulence. 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 dependences. We have an upswing in the economic part of our relations with Russia," he said.

He also raised the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and said: "We can’t allow terrorism to be normalised, we can not allow that to become a basis to come in discussion with Pakistan. Until there is a departure from the abbreviation of the policy of cross-border terrorism, it is not possible to have a normal relationship."