External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday interacted with the Indian community in Cyprus, during which he sent out a stern message to Pakistan and China. In a veiled dig without naming Pakistan, the foreign minister said India wants good neighbourly relations with everybody but that does not mean “excusing” terrorism. India will never agree to any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally, Jaishankar said on border issues with China.
His remarks came days after the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9. Meanwhile recently, India and Pakistan exchanged barbs at United Nations on the issue of terrorism.
“No country has suffered as much from terrorism as we have and we have been very clear that we will never accept it or normalise it. We will never allow terrorism to force us to the negotiation table. We want good neighbourly relations with everybody but that does not mean excusing or looking away or rationalising terrorism. That we are very clear,” Jaishankar said in Cyprus.
“The second, of course, is our borders. The challenges intensified during the Covid period. And you all know that the state of our relations with China are not normal because we will not agree to any attempt to change the Line of Actual Control unilaterally,” Jaishankar added.
On the national security side, Jaishankar said: “On diplomacy, I can say that at this time there is a lot of expectation from India as India is being seen today as a strong economy and one that will contribute to the problems. We are also seen as a country which is independent and has the courage to stand up. Also, a country which is able to bring very different countries which are not able to deal with each other,” Jaishankar said.
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