'Bali was Bali, New Delhi is New Delhi': EAM Jaishnakar on Russia-Ukraine conflict in Delhi declaration

"Bali was Bali, New Delhi is New Delhi. Bali was a year ago, the situation was different and many things have happened since then. In fact, if you see, in the geopolitical segment of the declaration, there are eight paragraphs, seven of which actually focus on the Ukraine issue. Many of them highlight problems which are of great contemporary significance," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Jaishankar was responding to a question posed by a reporter, who compared the New Delhi Declaration with the one at the G20 Summit in Bali last year, on whether the references to Russia’s aggression on Ukraine was kept out of the joint statement to have Russia sign it.

"One should not have a theological view of this. I think the New Delhi declaration responds to the situation and concerns as they are today just as the Bali declaration did in a situation which was there a year ago," the minister added.

Earlier, John Kirby, US National Security Council coordinator for strategic, had said that it would be difficult for India to get a joint declaration due to the Ukraine War.

He had aired doubts on whether India could bring "20 clocks to chime at the same time."

"Often times the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more comfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes. But we'd like to see that, absolutely," Kirby had said.

Further, China, too, supported the declaration. This gathers importance, especially as India recently strongly objected to China’s new "standard map", showing Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as part of its territory.

Asked about China's opinion on the declaration, which is being seen as a major diplomatic victory for India, Jaishankar said that it was "very supportive of the outcomes," the report said.