Can Jaishankar Be Another Kissinger?

Someone suggested Jaishankar was a potential Kissinger who could try and resolve the Russia-Ukraine imbroglio through his intellectual and diplomatic strengths.
But calling the spade a spade on issues like imperialism, colonialism and exploitation, he would have raised many eyebrows in the West at a time when the fractures and wounds needed to be treated and healed, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

No one could have followed a hundred sessions of the Raisina Dialogue over two days, but looking at the recordings and the comments by those who were present, it looks that the dialogue could not have come at a more inopportune time for India.

The various visitors to Delhi just before the dialogue had created quite a cacophony over the Indian position on the Russia-Ukraine war even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself outlined the Indian position to United States President Joe Biden. He had pointed out that India had not justified aggression and that he was in touch with both sides to resolve the problems, including Russia's security concerns, through peaceful negotiations. He even recalled that India had condemned the Bucha massacre perpetrated by Russian troops.

Subsequently, the focus shifted to the severe sanctions imposed by the US and NATO as India announced that it would buy oil from Russia at concessional rates and also it was in the process of working out a bilateral currency arrangement to bypass the sanctions.

None of the visitors showed any appreciation of the Indian position and kept raising the question as to where India stood in the fight between democracy and authoritarianism. Many questions arose about India's motivation, particularly in the context of the new alliance between Russia and China.

The Raisina Dialogue gave an opportunity for representatives of 99 countries to huddle in Delhi to continue the debate. Though the topic was 'Terra Nova, Impassioned, impatient and imperiled', much of the discussion narrowed down to the Indian position on the Russia-Ukraine war.

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who had already built up a treasure of quotable quotes on this issue, answered the questions in a combative and deflective manner, basically asserting that India is the best judge about its own interests and it will act according to its own lights whether it pleased others or not.

He was critical of India's record of having succumbed to pressure from friends and foes in the past. He outlined an independent foreign policy, which sounded contrary to the spirit of cooperation in an increasingly interdependent world. He drew applause in India, but left others somewhat bewildered in the process.

Even while asserting that India would not condone any violation of the principles of the UN Charter, he gave examples of violations of those principles in our own neighborhood by others and pointed out that we had to confront such violations on our own, as in the case of Afghanistan. He deflected questions on Russia's justification for its actions by saying that he would leave it to Russia to do it. He dwelt at length on the consequences of the war, which raised questions of energy and food security.

The import of oil from Russia and the export of wheat from India as part of India's effort to contribute to the solution of global problems arising out of the war. The questions from either side remained unanswered even after the dialogue.

The discussion on multilateralism and the future of the UN by a panel of former secretariat officials, diplomats and ministers raised many questions, but there was no answer to the nature of reform.

The speakers paid lip service to reform, but they were quite content that the UN had done what it could and since there was no alternative, it should continue. Someone suggested that smaller groups of countries should get together to resolve regional issues.

As for the total failure of the UN in the case of the Russia-Ukraine war, it was pointed out that though the UN did not succeed in establishing a ceasefire, the various specializsed agencies, such as UNDP, WHO, World Food Programme, UNHCR and the IAEA are gearing up to launch humanitarian assistance as soon as the fighting ceased.

An unabashed defender of the UN claimed that the UN contributed in one way or another to the transformation of the world in the last 75 years. It was agreed that looking for an alternative to the UN is like Adam suspecting Eve of infidelity thinking that there was an alternative to him!

Jaishankar was the star of the Raisina Dialogue, fighting different battles at the same time. Someone even suggested that he was a potential Kissinger who could try and resolve the Russia-Ukraine imbroglio through his intellectual and diplomatic strengths. But calling the spade a spade on issues like imperialism, colonialism and exploitation, he would have raised many eyebrows in the West at a time when the fractures and wounds needed to be treated and healed.

While we should not scale down our relations with Russia, the West should have been made to understand that India did not side with Russia in its bid to defeat the West.

In Germany, Modi said that no one would win the Russia-Ukraine war, which was one step ahead of just stressing the urgency to stop the war.

If the new global situation develops into a Cold War with the US on the one hand and China on the other, we may have to try and lead a non-aligned world with many Western countries in it. Perhaps, Modi has met leaders of Germany, the Nordic countries and France soon after the Raisina Dialogue precisely for this reason.

By their very nature, the dialogues held in different parts of the globe do not necessarily come up with conclusions. But those who participate in them and absorb new ideas may eventually make use of them in their own areas of work.

For the rest, the dialogue was a bonanza for many, who had remained locked down for two years, to return to face-to-face interaction on the critical issues of the world.

T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967), is a former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA.
Ambassador Sreenivasan is a frequent contributor to Rediff.com and you can read his earlier columns here.