German ambassador Philipp Ackermann has noted that Germany has always said India is in a “very good position” to listen to both sides when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Though he does not know what New Delhi is intending to do, Berlin would “welcome any engagement”, he added. Ambassador Ackermann talked to reporters at his residence in New Delhi, ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to India.
On October 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz will co-chair the seventh Intergovernmental Consultations.
The IGC is a whole-of-government framework under which ministers from both sides hold discussions in their respective areas of responsibility and report on the outcome of their deliberations to the prime minister and the chancellor.
In response to a query on India’s potential role towards seeking a resolution of the over two-year conflict, Ackermann said, “We all know that Prime Minister (Modi) is coming back from Kazan… BRICS Summit. He has been talking to a lot of leaders, including the Russian president, and without being privy to know the agenda of the bilateral talks… I am sure it will be on the agenda, and chancellor will be very curious what the PM has to say after this meeting”.
“We have always said that India is in a very good position to basically listen to both sides, and to have both sides in mind. We have seen the PM going to Kyiv, we have seen a renewed interest in the conflict… I think, I don’t know what India is intending to do, but we would welcome any engagement,” he said.
Later an interaction with PTI Videos after his briefing, the German envoy said he was convinced that Modi and Scholz “will discuss geopolitics”.
