Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri represents India to discuss Hormuz crisis with over 60 countries

New Delhi: British Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri represented India at a meeting hosted by Britain on Thursday to discuss efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting, attended by more than 60 countries, discussed diplomatic and political measures to restore freedom of navigation on key energy routes, rather than military measures.According to an Indian report, Misri emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and the principle of unimpeded transit of international waterways at the meeting. He also highlighted the impact of the crisis on India’s energy security and the fact that India remains the only country to have lost crew members in attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf, the government said.“He (Misri) also stressed that the way out of the crisis includes de-escalation and return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue among the parties concerned,” India’s readout of the meeting said.Ahead of the UK meeting, US President Donald Trump claimed that the responsibility for keeping the strait open must rest with Asian and European countries that are more dependent than the United States on oil and gas passing through the chokepoint. Washington was reportedly absent from the virtual meeting hosted by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.Although India participated in the meeting, it has not yet endorsed the joint statement signed earlier by the UK and 35 other countries, which in the document expressed its willingness to contribute to “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait”.India continues to support direct talks with Tehran to resolve the issue and, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier, the talks have yielded some results. Iran has so far allowed six Indian-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.