Expressing India’s concern on the situation in Ukraine, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday that New Delhi supports talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the crisis. Wednesday marks six months of the launch of the Russian offensive and the war in Ukraine. He also called for strengthening of ties with the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) bilaterally and within the framework of the organisation.

“India is concerned about the humanitarian crisis in and around Ukraine. We have extended our support to the efforts of the UN Secretary General, UN agencies and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide humanitarian assistance,” he said addressing the annual SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Tashkent.

During the exchange of pleasantries with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu in the morning, Mr. Singh conveyed his “deep appreciation and thanks” for arresting in Moscow a terrorist who was planning attacks in India, a Defence Ministry statement said.

Calling on the SCO to unitedly fight against terrorism, Mr. Singh stressed that terrorism in any form, including cross-border terrorism, committed by anyone and for whatever purpose, is a crime against humanity.

“Terrorism is one of the most serious challenges to global peace and security. India reiterates its resolve to fight all forms of terrorism and make the region peaceful, secure and stable. We seek to develop joint institutional capabilities with the SCO member states, which, while respecting the sensitivities of each country, create the spirit of cooperation among individuals, societies and nations,” he said.

Mr. Singh proposed to host a workshop in India in 2023 on the theme ‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief – risk mitigation and disaster resilient infrastructure’ for the Defence Ministries of SCO member states and also suggested an annual seminar on ‘Topic of Interest’ among the defence think tanks of SCO countries. “We propose to organise the first such defence think tank seminar in India in 2023,” he said.

On Afghanistan, Mr. Singh voiced India’s full support to a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan, while emphasising the need to respect its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and non-interference in internal affairs.

He urged all parties to encourage Afghanistan authorities to achieve national reconciliation through dialogue and negotiation and establish a broad-based, inclusive and representative political structure in the country, the statement said.

Mr. Singh added that Afghan territory must not be used to “intimidate or attack any country by providing safe havens and training to terrorists and supporting their activities through financial assistance”. He stressed on the need to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and safeguard their fundamental rights, the statement said.

Highlighting India’s age-old ties with SCO countries, Mr. Singh asserted that the member states of the organisation are common stakeholders in the progress and prosperity of the region. “India accords high priority to SCO because of its unwavering belief in multilateralism. There is a need to strengthen ties with SCO member states bilaterally and within the framework of the organisation on the basis of equality, respect and mutual understanding,” he said. Mr. Singh invited all SCO member states to visit India next year when New Delhi takes over the presidency of the organisation from Uzbekistan.