Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, met his French counterpart Jean
Yves Le Drian and discussed issues pertaining to Ukraine. The Indian minister
is in France on a three-day visit at a time when France is hosting a summit expected
to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Joe
Biden on the escalating tensions in eastern Europe.

The former
diplomat-turned-foreign minister is also expected to call on French President
Emmanuel Macron. Macron’s diplomatic manoeuvring has opened a window to
de-escalate tensions in Ukraine. Biden and Putin have agreed to meet in principle.
However, the US president has imposed a condition that the summit will only
take place if Russia doesn’t invade Ukraine.

Also Read | Biden, Putin agree to meet as tensions simmer in Ukraine: Report

The breakthrough has
come at a time when Washington warned of an imminent invasion and Russia and
Ukraine blamed each other for a rise in shelling on the frontlines. Jaishankar’s
presence in France at this time will go a long way in determining India’s role
in the burgeoning crisis which has the potential to reverberate through the
world.

Tensions between
Russia and Ukraine have been rising for months. While the United States and
some of its allies have accused Russia of intending to invade Ukraine, Moscow
has said the west seeks to make Ukraine a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), a security bloc that Russia feels is against its interests.

During his visit,
Jaishankar is expected to lay out India’s vision for Europe.

The Indian minister’s
visit to France follows his address at the Munich Security Conference in
Germany where Jaishankar spoke at length about India’s relations with China. At
the conference, Jaishankar vociferously denied the charge (primarily made by
China) that the Quad is an Asian version of NATO.

Also Read | India’s relations with China going through ‘very difficult phase’: Jaishankar

Quad or
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a security dialogue among India, Japan,
Australia and the United States formally set up to establish an “Asian arc of
Democracy.” China believes the Quad is a grouping that seeks to harm its
interests.

Denying Quad was an
Asian version of NATO, Jaishankar said, “It isn’t because there are three
countries who are treaty allies. We are not a treaty ally. It doesn’t have a
treaty, a structure, a secretariat, it’s a kind of 21st Century way
of responding to a more diversified, dispersed world.”