Paris, Jun 18: India on Thursday welcomed the US-Iran peace deal, affirming that New Delhi remains in close touch with partner nations in West Asia and is prepared to contribute in addressing the “next steps” to ensure peace and stability in the region.
At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India always advocated the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict and it expects that the US-Iran understanding will lead to sustained peace.
Misri said the West Asia situation figured prominently in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s engagements at G7 outreach meetings as well as in his bilateral talks with several world leaders.
PM Modi expressed India’s desire to see sustained peace and security in West Asia, he added.
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the landmark peace Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which provides for an immediate halt to all military operations, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Misri said India has been in close touch with most of the protagonists who are involved or affected by the conflict.
“We remain in very close touch with all of those partners, and we’ll be ready to do whatever it is, whatever it is possible for us to do, in so far as addressing the next steps,” he said.
“India welcomed the developments that have taken place through the understanding that has been reached between the US and Iran and hopes to see a rapid return to peace and stability in the region,” Misri said.
The foreign secretary said India always emphasised the importance of maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce through the international waterways in the region.
He said Modi specifically underlined the importance of the safety and security of seafarers.
“He noted how hundreds of thousands of Indian seafarers essentially provide a global public good by serving on maritime platforms that serve the global community and serve global maritime trade in a big way, and why therefore their safety and security should be a common concern of the global community,” Misri said.
“This is something that he voiced not just in his intervention at the G7 summit outreach meetings but also in his bilateral meetings with several leaders,” he added.
Misri said India expects that the peace deal between the US and Iran will lead to sustained peace and stability in West Asia.
“India has always advocated the path of dialogue and diplomacy to settle conflicts such as these. We have always also expressed our readiness to contribute in any manner that we can,” he said.
“We have very strong relationships with all of the countries in the region,” he said.
