Known for his no-nonsense articulation of India’s position on geopolitical issues, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had a sharp response when an Australian journalist asked him if New Delhi recognises Canberra’s “angst” over its ties with Russia.

Dr Jaishankar was speaking to Sky News Australia’s Sharri Markson in an interview during his recent visit. When Ms Markson asked him if India recognises the “angst” its relationship with Russia causes Australia, he replied, “I don’t think we have given cause for any angst. In this day and age, countries don’t have exclusive relationships.”

The minister then drew a Pakistan parallel. “If I were to use that logic, I would say so many countries have relationship with Pak. Look at the angst it should cause me,” he said.

Dr Jaishankar then proceeded to explain how India’s close ties with Russia is in the interest of the international community. Referring to Delhi’s decision to buy Russian oil despite the West and other counties sanctioning Moscow after the Ukraine war broke out, the minister said,

“If we had not made the moves we had, the energy markets would have taken a completely different turn and precipitated a global energy crisis, it would have caused inflation across the world.”

He said India’s ties with Russia enables it to play a role in bringing the conflict to the talks table. “The fact that we have a good relationship with Russia allows us to be a country in between which has the ability to talk to both Russia and Ukraine and try to find some intersection in those conversations. i think the world, including Australia, needs such a country that will help bring this conflict back to the conference table,” he said, adding, “Conflicts rarely end on battlefield, mostly they end in negotiations.”

Australia has backed Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and supplied Kyiv with weapons. When the conflict began in 2022, then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said Russia should be seen as a “pariah state” and no country should have anything to do with them.

As the West imposed sanctions on Russia, India decided to continue buying oil from Moscow. This raised eyebrows and Dr Jaishankar countered the West’s questions regarding India’s decision. The former diplomat had then sharply said that Europe needs to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems. He had said India has a right to prioritise its energy needs. Later, speaking at NDTV World Summit, Dr Jaishankar had underlined that Moscow never done anything to impact India’s interests negatively.

On the Ukraine conflict, the Narendra Modi government has refused to take sides, with the Prime Minister stressing that this is not an era of war. The Prime Minister recently travelled to both Ukraine and Russia. India, he has said, is not neutral, but on the side of peace.

A Tamil Nadu government doctor was stabbed seven times at a Chennai hospital Wednesday morning by a young man whose mother was being treated for cancer by the same doctor.

The young man was also a patient attender at that hospital.

The doctor, an oncologist, is also a heart patient and suffered injuries to his upper chest and head. He is in the Intensive Care Unit, or the ICU, but is in stable condition, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said.

A senior doctor said his colleague has a pacemaker and was cut on his forehead and back, as well as behind his ear, and was also hit on his stomach. 

The man who stabbed him has been arrested; the attack took place in the OPD, or outpatient department, of the Kalaignar Centenary Hospital in the city’s Guindy neighbourhood, after he suspected the doctor had prescribed incorrect medication to his mother, a cancer patient.

The accused, 26 years old according to some reports, tried to escape after stabbing the doctor but was caught and handed over to the police.

The attacker used a small knife hidden on his person, but insisted there was no security lapse, the Health Minister said. Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered an inquiry and promised medical aid, as well as providing assurances such an attack won’t happen again.

“Service of doctors is laudable… and it is our responsibility to ensure their safety.”

கிண்டி கலைஞர் நூற்றாண்டு உயர்சிறப்பு மருத்துவமனையில் பணிபுரியும் மருத்துவர் திரு. பாலாஜி அவர்களை நோயாளியின் குடும்ப உறுப்பினர் ஒருவர் கத்தியால் குத்திய சம்பவம் அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது.

இக்கொடுஞ்செயலில் ஈடுபட்ட நபர் உடனடியாகக் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார். மருத்துவர் திரு. பாலாஜி…

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 13, 2024

In a long message (in Tamil) on X the Chief Minister said, “The selfless work of our government doctors in providing treatment to patients regardless of the time is immeasurable. The government will take measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”

The Chennai attack refocuses the spotlight on the safety of healthcare workers at their workplace, an issue that rocketed to national attention after the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. One accused – Sanjay Roy – has been arrested for that crime.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.