India “prevailed” in ensuring that a joint statement with the US, Japan and Australia did not mention or condemn Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, former Foreign Minister Kanwal Sibal told RT. Sibal explained that the eyes of the ‘Quad’ should remain focused on the Indo-Pacific, and New Delhi has no quarrel with Moscow.
The leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue issued a joint statement on Tuesday following a summit in Tokyo, Japan. The statement largely focused on security issues in the South China Sea and Asia more broadly, and Ukraine was briefly mentioned as a “tragic conflict” and a “humanitarian crisis” which all four leaders discussed their responses to.
The Quad leaders referenced “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” but did not condemn or even name Moscow.
Sibal, a veteran diplomat who served as India’s foreign minister between 2001 and 2002, told RT on Tuesday that this was not an accidental oversight.