No one has supported the military regime and undermined democracy in Pakistan in as many ways as the West, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, reported news agency PTI, quoted by BTA.
In an interview with the Danish newspaper "Politiken" Jaishankar defined the threat of terrorism as a "collective challenge" to the world, which is on a par with climate change and growing poverty. The Indian foreign minister also criticized Europe for supporting Pakistan at a time when there is a military dictatorship in the country.
"Our borders in Kashmir have been violated by Pakistan ever since our independence was declared in 1947. And what have we seen in the eight decades since then? The great democratic Europe, to use your terms, stood shoulder to shoulder with the military dictatorships in the region," Jaishankar said. "Nobody has supported the military regime and undermined democracy in Pakistan in as many ways as the West," he added.
In his interview with the Danish publication, Jaishankar also answered a question about "democratic" India's support for authoritarian Russia, buying large quantities of Russian oil while Moscow is waging war against Ukraine. The Indian foreign minister said Europe was raising energy prices for all developing countries, including India, by sourcing crude oil from the Middle East.
"Rich Europe turned to the Middle East because it had a problem with Russia and offered inflated prices to divert oil to Europe. And as a result, not only us but many other countries could no longer afford it. The big oil companies did not even respond to the offers to buy because they were too busy selling to Europe," Jaishankar said. "What was the rest of the world supposed to do? Say - okay, we will just go without energy because the Europeans need it more than we do," the Indian diplomat asked.
Jaishankar is wrapping up his six-day European tour today, which included the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.