Jaishankar interview: What EAM said on China, relations with Canada? | Top points

External affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the Russia-Ukraine war during India's evacuation of its students from Ukraine.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times spoke on several issues including India-China standoff, the Gurpatwant Pannun case, strained relations with Canada and more.

He also mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dialogue with Russian and Ukrainian presidents during the Ukraine-Russia conflict to ensure a safe passage for Indians to return home.

Read full interview- Strengthen Modi’s hands... he’s going to see you through this stormy period, says Jaishankar

Here are five big quotes by Jaishankar from the HT interview

• "Strengthen Narendra Modi’s hands because he is actually the guy who’s going to see you through the stormy period; that you need a very firm, steady, experienced pair of hands on the tiller as we navigate these turbulent waters," Jaishankar said, lauding his government's effort in moving from "one crisis to another".

• Jaishankar mentioned that PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during the Sumy rescue and "told them ‘Look, this is very, very important, you know, we want your forces to stand down and give us a pathway and my officials will work out the details’. So, they passed the instructions down. I was actually sitting with the PM, and he called up Putin and Zelensky."

READ IN DETAIL- Jaishankar reveals real story behind 'Modi ji ne war rukva di papa'

• On the Pannun episode, Jaishankar said, "Americans brought to our attention certain data points. The data points were specific enough, serious enough for us to say, okay, it warrants us investigating it, because it wasn’t just the implication for them. We also in those data points, assess certain implications for us. So I think that is going on. But beyond that is there anything I would like to say in public? My answer is no."

On Canada's accusations over Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing last year, Jaishankar said,"Our relationship has become a "victim of Canadian coalition, compulsions, or political football, call it whatever."

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• "The situation on the LAC is that both of us today remain forward deployed, which means we are deployed well ahead of our traditional bases and camps. Secondly, we are deployed in much larger numbers than we were before the 2020s. We are also deployed with much more weaponry than we were before the 2020s. They did it first, we responded to it, so they are responsible for it… So, right now, the focus is on how do we get the patrolling issues resolved. Thereafter, there could be a discussion about the troops, weapons… that's the de-escalation side," Jaishankar said.

• On comparison with PM Modi and HM Amit Shah, EAM said, "Different people have different styles of communication. If you look at somebody like Prime Minister Modi, home minister Amit Shah, some of these people are extraordinarily effective in mass communication. I find I am much more comfortable and much more effective in doing more of a town hall kind of thing."

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