Russia-Ukraine crisis: Shashi Tharoor said it is a shame that India has come to a standstill. (File)
New Delhi:
Congressman Shashi Tharoor accused the government of keeping quiet about the issue in the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, saying “it’s a shame”.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Mr Tharoor said: “Russia is a friend and there may be legitimate security concerns, but if India suddenly remains silent, it will be seen as a disappointment by Ukraine and its friends. It is a pity that India has gone silent. “
He went on to say that India has consistently upheld these principles – the inviolability of sovereign borders and the inadmissibility of change through violence and violence that countries are not supposed to achieve their goals by invading other countries.
That is why diplomacy was invented and the importance of establishing the principle that no country has the right to implement regime change in another country, he said.
Mr Tharoor, who chaired the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs from 2014 to 2019, said: “It is not good for a country like India seeking a seat on the UN Security Council to be completely silent on internationally recognized principles.”
Tharoor also said Ukraine’s request for India to intervene in the case is “completely understandable”.
“Our position was that we do not support invading other countries and regime changes through violence and war,” he added.
The Congress MP also said: “We have chosen carefully not to blame anyone and we have carefully chosen not to say anything about an invasion or an attack or to point the finger at Russia.”
“A de-escalation means there are two sides fighting and you want them both to calm down. But in this case, that’s not the reality. The reality is one side has attacked the other, troops moving from one country to another “This is not the situation where we can request both parties to de-escalate. We must ask the Russians to stop what they are doing. We must remind the Russians that they are violating the principles that are important to us,” the congress said.
Speaking of Indians stranded in Ukraine, he said there are 24,000 students from India, 2,300 of whom are from Kerala.
“I too have received messages for intervention. Since the airspace is closed, there is no practical way to fly them back to land,” he added.
Speaking of India’s neighbor China, with which we have made several border crossings, Mr Tharoor said: “If the Chinese move into our country, we would like other countries to stand up for us. If Ukraine expects us to talk to Russians, we should at least try to be counted on the right side of things.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities escalating ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine became independent in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Putin said on Thursday that special military operations are being launched “to protect the people of the Donbas region”. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere in the Russian action would lead to “consequences”.
Leaders from a number of countries, including the UK, US, Canada and the European Union, have condemned Russia’s military operations in the Donbas region.
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