NEW DELHI: India remains one of the few countries able to engage with all parties to the conflict in West Asia, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday, defending the government’s diplomatic approach and rejecting opposition claims that India had become a bystander to the crisis.“If our ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz and continue to sail safely, that in itself is a statement of India’s position. Our prime minister has spoken to the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of Iran and the leaders of the Gulf countries. There are very few leaders in the world who can speak to all parties,” Rijiju said.
He added that despite multiple global crises in the past decade, including Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Gaza war and ongoing tensions in West Asia, India has remained stable.Rijiju called the all-party meeting on the situation in West Asia “productive” and said opposition leaders had raised concerns which the government had addressed. “At the end of the meeting, the opposition said they would stand with the government at this critical time.”Responding to opposition criticism of India’s slow response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rijiju said, “There was no delay. The foreign minister went on the first day the book of condolences was opened.”
