New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain said India shares a good relationship with Russia and it “must bring Moscow to the discussion table”. Talking about India’s stand on voting in UNGA, Lenain said, “India is a strong country. India has strategic autonomy. We respect India to make its own decision according to its interests and principles so nobody should say what India should do. That is first. Support from India will be very welcomed because India’s voice matters.”
Lenain, replying to the question on India’s humanitarian aid said, “I am sure Indian authorities are first trying to protect their citizens. For any government, this is the first priority. We hope once this issue is solved India’s concern will expand to all the civilians in Ukraine also. Indian authorities told Russia to call on ceasefire and talks.”
Amid heightened tensions due to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain on Thursday said that India is the largest democracy in the world, and its voice matters. “India’s voice is very important. It’s the largest democracy in the world. India aspires to an even larger responsibility in the international fora. My country is a strong supporter of India getting a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. India is a voice that is heard in the world,” Lenain said in an inclusive interview with ANI.
He referred to India’s statements in which it had stressed the “importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations”. “We really count on the largest democracy in the world. India has made statements on respect for territorial integrity which are very welcome,” the French envoy said.
India and 34 other countries on Wednesday abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution that censured Russia over its military actions against Ukraine. India had earlier abstained from the UN Security Council procedural vote to call for a General Assembly session on the Ukraine crisis.
“Door is not closed and we have adopted united EU position on sanctions. We expect as much support as we can to the next step which is the resolution of the humanitarian assistance. It is going to be very important. This is not a fight, the war between two countries, or East and West. It is a fight for principles and countries from Asia, Singapore adopted sanctions. Most of the world is appalled by this aggression. I am sure you have seen the result of the resolution that was voted yesterday, 141 voted against Russia and it is an unusually strong message,” he added.
India along with China and UAE had last week abstained from a US-sponsored resolution against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. Moscow used its veto against the resolution. Ambassador said that the primary call is on the cessation of hostility so that the population can be protected and we can stop the ‘bloodshed’. “This is a wake-up call. The world is becoming more and more dangerous,” he added.
Speaking on the defense positions of countries he stated, “Countries in Europe are raising their defense budget, Germany have also raised their defense budget recently. India is also diversifying its weapons procurement and producing more weapons in India, on both counts you know you can rely on friends.”
There are no plans to integrate Ukraine into NATO: French envoy Lenain
New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Thursday said that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has no plans to integrate Ukraine into the organization.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the French envoy said, “There are no NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, no plan to integrate Ukraine into NATO. So, it’s pure cold-blood aggression from a non-democratic country against a democracy. You have to call a spade a spade. Is it going to die soon? What I see is escalation right now.”
Regarding French and NATO’s allies’ help to Ukraine, he said, “We are helping Ukraine a lot. All the countries in Europe have decided to send equipment, weapons in addition to humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. We are also providing a lot of political support.” Lenain also said that in record time, unprecedented sanctions against Russia were adopted after Moscow started its military operations in Ukraine. “In record time, we have been able to adopt unprecedented sanctions against Russia, its banking institutions, against the so-called oligarchs who are supporting the regime and it seems that the sanctions are starting to bite, in particular, the slump in the rate of the currency,” said Lenain.
He lamented over the loss of lives in the conflict, he said, “We are very preoccupied. Civilians dying from the conflict, hundreds of thousands of refugees leaving the country. It’s not a usual conflict between two countries, it’s aggression without provocation of any sort.”
The crisis between Ukraine and Russia deepened in January 2021, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed the US President Joe Biden to let Ukraine enter NATO. Russia stated that its troops’ deployment is in response to NATO’s steady eastward expansion and argued that it aimed at protecting its own security considerations. However, the US ruled out changing NATO’s “open-door policy” which means NATO would continue to induct more members. The US also said that it would continue to offer training and weapons to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 signed a decree recognizing the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in the Donbas region of Ukraine after the recognition of Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent identities. (ANI)
