Agreements, once reached, must be scrupulously respected: S Jaishankar

At the Brics outreach Session in Russia’s Kazan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the need for dialogue to resolve disputes. He emphasised that agreements, once reached, should be followed to the letter.
“Prime Minister Modi has emphasised that this is not an era of war. Disputes and differences must be settled by dialogue and diplomacy. Agreements, once reached, must be scrupulously respected. International law should be adhered to, without exception,” Jaishankar said.
The minister’s remark comes just days after India and China made a major breakthrough over the border row and reached an agreement to end a four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh. The deal marks a return to patrolling agreements that were in place before the 2020 Galwan clash. The disengagement agreement came after 17 rounds of working mechanism meetings and 21 rounds of military dialogue.
The agreement also set the stage for the first bilateral talks between PM Modi and China’s Xi Jinping in five years. PM Modi welcomed the border agreement and said that India-China ties were important for global peace and stability. “Mutual trust, respect and sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” PM Modi said during the delegation-level talks on the sidelines of Brics Summit.
At the Brics Summit, PM Modi reiterated India’s stance on resolving global conflicts, emphasising that this is not an era of war. The Prime Minister’s peace message came at a time when Russia is at war with Ukraine while Isreal has declared war on Hamas and is in conflict with Iran-backed proxies.
Addressing the Brics Outreach session, Jaishankar stressed that there should be zero tolerance for terrorism. He also discussed the escalating situation in West Asia and expressed concern over the potential for the conflict to spread further in the region.
“The situation in the Middle East, West Asia for us, is an understandable concern. There is a widespread anxiety that the conflict would spread further in the region. Maritime trade has also been deeply affected. The human and material consequences of further escalation are truly serious. Any approach has to be fair and durable, leading to a two-state solution,” Jaishankar said.