Amid Trump’s Gaza ‘takeover’, Jaishankar says India supports two-state solution
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New Delhi: In the first ministerial-level comment since US President Donald Trump's call to remove Palestinians from Gaza, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar underlined India's support for a two-state solution.
Earlier this month, Trump floated a controversial proposal for the US to "take over" Gaza and deport its almost two million Palestinian population to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
The initiative garnered strong criticism from Arab countries but was supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jaishankar highlighted India's position on key geopolitical flashpoints in West Asia during the G20 foreign ministers' conference in South Africa on Thursday (February 20).
“On the Middle East, we welcome the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, support humanitarian assistance, condemn terrorism and advocate a two-state solution. Maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon and ensuring an inclusive Syrian-led, Syrian-owned solution are important. Peace and stability in the region is vital for the entire world,” he said.
According to analysts, if Trump's idea is followed, it will render the two-state solution unfeasible by eliminating the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, The Wire reported.
Addressing another major conflict, Jaishankar said that “the world expects that parties concerned deal with each other to end the war” in Ukraine.
On February 18, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss ending the war, which began with Russia's invasion in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attacked the summit for omitting Ukraine, indicating that Kyiv would not accept any outcomes from debates in which it was not a participant.
The Indian minister also stated that crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and the Sahel region receive little attention. "This must change," he remarked.
“In the Indo-Pacific, it is important that international law – especially UNCLOS 1982 – is respected. Agreements entered into must be observed. And there must be no room for coercion,” he added.