Jaishankar says India is looking for partners, not preachers; highlights New Delhi’s ‘Russia realism’

India is looking for “partners” and not “preachers”, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Sunday (May 4, 2025), in a veiled message to Europe in the context of the conflict in Ukraine as he explained the nuances of New Delhi’s “Russia realism” and why the relationship between the two sides was an “important fit”.

In an interactive session, Mr. Jaishankar, delving into broader geopolitical upheavals, said Europe had “entered a certain zone of a reality check” and must display some sensitivity and mutuality of interest for deeper ties with India.

India has always advocated for “Russia realism” and there was an “important fit” and “complementarity” between India and Russia as a resource provider and consumer, the EAM said, in remarks that came amid persistent efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to strike a ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv.

Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, New Delhi has remained engaged with Moscow and enhanced its procurement of Russian crude oil, which triggered criticism from the West. India, however, maintained that its ties with Russia are driven by national interest.

The EAM also criticised earlier attempts by the West to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict without involving Russia, saying it “challenged the basics of realism”.

“Just like I am an advocate of Russia realism, I am also an advocate of America realism,” he said at the ‘Arctic Circle India Forum’.

“I think the best way to engage today’s America is also through finding mutuality of interests rather than putting ideological differences upfront and then allowing it to cloud the possibilities of working together,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

The EAM was broadly delving into the global consequences of developments in the Arctic and how the changing world order impacts the region.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mr. Jaishankar said India has always been “very careful not to prescribe a solution”.

“We have not told one or the other party to do this or do that. And that is important to remember because that is a courtesy that is not always granted to us. So, we get advice on what we should be doing,” he said, in another dig at the West.

Answering a question on India’s expectations from Europe, Mr. Jaishankar said it had to get beyond preaching, and to start acting based on a framework of mutuality.

“When we look out at the world, we look for partners; we do not look for preachers, particularly preachers who do not practice at home and preach abroad,” he said.

“I think some of Europe is still struggling with that problem. Some of it has changed,” he added.

The EAM said Europe had “entered a certain zone of reality check”. “Now, whether they are able to step up to it or not, it is something we will have to see,” he added.

“But from our point of view, if we are to develop a partnership, there has to be some understanding, there has to be some sensitivity, there has to be a mutuality of interest, and there has to be a realisation of how the world works,” he noted.

“And I think these are all work in progress to differing degrees with different parts of Europe. So, some have moved further, some a little bit less,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

On India-Russia ties, he said there was such an “important fit and complementarity” between the two countries as a “resource provider and resource consumer”.

“Where Russia is concerned, we have always taken a view that there is a Russia realism that we have advocated,” the EAM said.

“When passions were very high [in] 2022, 2023… if one looks back at that period, the kind of predictions and scenarios which were put forward have turned out not to be well-founded,” he said.

The Minister criticised the thinking of the West in the past that a solution to the conflict in Ukraine could emerge without involving Russia.

“The idea that you will get a solution out of Russia without inviting Russia challenged the basics of realism. We have always felt that there is a need to engage Russia. Nobody wants war, particularly in a very interdependent world. These are lose-lose situations,” he said.

“I think for us, to engage Russia, if there is any way we can be of help, we have always been very open about it,” Mr. Jaishankar said, adding, “Having said that we have always been very careful not to prescribe a solution.”

The Minister said India was not necessarily siding with one party or the other. “But we always felt that international relations are conducted on the basis of some fundamental realism, and that realism requires an engagement with Russia,” he said.