Germany Minister of State for Overseas Tobias Lindner said what happened in Ukraine was also a massive attack on orders, sovereignty, and territorial integrity based on international rules. It should be in the interest of all countries to enforce the UN Charter, he said.
New Delhi: German Minister of State for Overseas Tobias Lindner said on Wednesday that it was the shared interest of Germany and India to uphold international rules -based orders against the background of the Ukraine crisis.
Lindner, in India to participate in Raisina’s dialogue and hold a bilateral meeting, clarify that Germany is not in the business of “sermons and teaching” to India about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The goal, he said, is to be interesting, rather than encouraging, India about this problem and to understand the Perspective of the New Delhi about the crisis.
The German minister is part of the list of developing European leaders who have traveled to the Indian capital in recent weeks to discuss the fall of Russian attacks on Ukraine, especially its impact on security architecture created after World War 2.
“I believe it is our common interest in upholding the international rules -based order because that is the basis for peace, sovereignty [and] territorial integrity, but also for close economic ties,” Lindner told a small group of journalists. He stressed that he was not in India “to teach or preach”, and that he intended to “understand the perspective of India but also more interesting, rather than pushing, India”.
Lindner supports the opinion of European Commission President Ursula Von Von Der Leyen that the war in Ukraine will have an impact on Indo-Pacific, and says it can no longer be “business as usual with Russia in every international forum”. The Russian aggression war has “implications in the [case] of China,” he added.
“We will not ignore other conflicts and security issues in other regions and we need to remain engaged,” he said, expressed concern about the new security pact between the Chinese Islands and the Solomon Islands. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is expected to comply with international rules-based orders and international court decisions on issues in the South China Sea, he said.
Describing India as a strategic partner for the new German government, he said Berlin wanted to deepen relations with New Delhi in fields such as economics, education, technology and security. “We are waiting for a bilateral government consultation in Berlin on Monday with the Prime Minister of India and several ministers,” he said.
Asked about Sustainable German dependence on Russian energy, Lindner said the European Union was estimated to have a full embargo in Russian coal in the next few weeks. There is also the possibility of cutting the supply of Russian oil to zero this year, although it will take up to two to three years to reduce German dependence on Russian gas, he said.
“Sanctions against Russia must be sustainable. We believe that conflict with Russia is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will live, their policies will not change, “Lindner said.
“That is the main message of our government to the Indian Prime Minister of what happened in Ukraine is also a major attack on the order based on international rules, sovereignty, territorial integrity. It should be for the benefit of all countries … to uphold the UN Charter, “he added.