On Tuesday, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor conceded that he was left with "egg on his face" for his criticism of India's position on the Russia-Ukraine war when it originally broke out in 2022.
Looking back at India's policy, Tharoor admitted that the nation's policy has since placed it where it is now able to play a leading role in bringing enduring peace.
When the war started, Tharoor had been critical of India's initial reaction, urging a more robust condemnation of Russia's aggression.
In 2022, Tharoor had stated, "India has had a very complicated and difficult period in negotiating its own position on the (Ukraine-Russia) crisis. There's no doubt that India, in its very first statement, appeared reluctant to say anything that would offend the Russians."
Reflecting on his previous criticism, Tharoor said, "I am still wiping the egg off my face because I was one of the few in the parliamentary debate who criticized India's position back in February 2022," according to PTI at the Raisina Dialogue. His criticism was based on India's refusal to denounce Russia's actions, alleging breaches of the UN Charter, territorial integrity, and the principle of sovereignty. All those principles were flouted by one side, and we should have denounced it," Tharoor said.
But he did acknowledge India's strategy has since paid off. "Three years on, it looks as though I am the one with egg on my face because India has a prime minister today who can invite both the president of Ukraine and the president of Russia within two weeks of each other and be received in both capitals," he said in the session titled 'Waging Peace: Looking Back to Look Ahead.'
Tharoor continued that India is uniquely placed today to shape enduring peace because of its diplomatic position and strategic distance from Europe. "India can make a difference to lasting peace in ways that very few countries can," he said.
While admitting to his own role in opposition and unable to represent the government, Tharoor indicated that in the event an agreement is met between Russia and Ukraine, India would perhaps agree to provide peacekeepers, unlike the resistance they had with respect to the deployment of Indian troops to Iraq in 2003. "I don't see that happening for Ukraine.". If there were an agreed peace, I believe that there would be some willingness to entertain it," he said, but adding that he could not speak for the government.
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