Iran on Wednesday said that it was interested in diplomacy but not in negotiating with the US and that the killing of its General Qasem Soleimani showed ignorance and arrogance of America. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also pointed out how 430 cities in India witnessed protests against the killing.
Zarif met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval besides Russian Foreign Minister and apprised them of the situation in the Gulf region.
“PM reiterated India’s continued commitment to developing strong and friendly relations with Iran. He thanked Iranian leadership for the progress in Chabahar project, including through designating it as Special Economic Zone,” a PMO statement said.
“The Foreign Minister shared his perspectives on the recent developments in the region. The Prime Minister mentioned India’s strong interest in peace, security and stability in the region,” the PMO added.
In a related development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar referred here to tensions between the US and Iran and said they are two individualistic countries and what finally happens will depend on the players involved. He made this observation while addressing the ongoing Raisina Dialogue. Ministers and diplomats from several countries including Iran and Russia are attending the meet on geo-politics.
Making his country’s position clear, Zarif said at the event “Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under the nuclear deal. We had a US deal and US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?”
He also said “We need to create hope in the region. We have to get rid of despair,” adding Iran incurred hundreds of billions of dollars in damages because of current tensions.
Pointing out that Soleimani was the single biggest threat to ISIS and his killing was now being celebrated by the terror group and US President Donald Trump.
He also said India can play a role in de-escalating tensions in the Gulf region as New Delhi is an important player. India has so far maintained that it would like the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible and the country has been in touch with key players, including Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, as it has important interests in the region.
Signifying New Delhi’s growing influence in the region, the Iranian minister also met Doval and gave him a firsthand account of the situation prevailing in the Gulf region, sources said adding the overall security scenario figured prominently in the talks, they said.
The deliberations between them come amid the global focus on Iran and the US over the confrontation between the two countries following the killing of Soleimani. Meanwhile, Zarif also met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in the Gulf. Jaishankar said India’s way is not to be disruptive and it is more of a decider than an abstainer. In remarks that come at a time several countries have called for a greater Indian role in the Indo-Pacific, the minister also said it is not the India way to be mercantilist.
Discussing ties with China, he said it is vital for neighbours to reach understanding on crucial issues. “Neither India nor China can get India-China relations wrong. Our relationship is unique. Each country has gone up in the world simultaneously. It is necessary that the two countries find equilibrium,” Jaishankar said. Stating that India is a “prisoner of its past image” and must get over it, the external affairs minister said “it is not the India way to be disruptive. It is not the India way to be mercantilist. It is the India way to be more of a decider and not an abstainer. I would pick on climate change. India owes it to itself and to the world to be a just power.”
On India pulling out of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he said the onus was on countries which were part of it. “Where RCEP is concerned, we have to look at cost and benefit. We will evaluate RCEP on its economic and trade merit. We have not closed our mind to it,” Jaishankar said.