External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar used his address at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting to target what he described as “double standards” in global responses to energy diplomacy and conflicts, and to press for a shake-up of multilateral architecture. He warned that treating energy access as a political lever risks deepening inequalities, especially among developing nations.
Jaishankar contended that the world is witnessing selective enforcement when it comes to sanctions and energy policies. He said: “Apart from jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and cost themselves became pressure points on nations. Double standards are clearly in evidence.” He held that punishing states through economic coercion undercuts the link between peace and development.
He spoke of conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as stark illustrations of how the burden falls disproportionately on the Global South. Escalating costs of energy, food and fertilisers, he said, do more than disrupt supply chains — they undermine stability for the most vulnerable nations. Jaishankar argued that development cannot be sacrificed in pursuit of peace: “By threatening development, we cannot facilitate peace.”
Without naming any country, he appeared to target the United States’ position on Russian energy, implicitly critiquing its dual approach. Washington has levied steep tariffs — up to 50 per cent — on Indian exports, citing New Delhi’s continued Russian oil purchases. Critics in the West accuse India of enabling war finance in Moscow; India counters that its purchases are commercially driven and calls out inconsistency.
Jaishankar linked his denunciation of double standards to a larger critique of global institutions. He said existing multilateral mechanisms, especially the United Nations, have exposed glaring limitations. He urged reforms to make them more responsive to 21st-century challenges — climate, conflict, energy and development.
He also called for leveraging countries that maintain relationships with multiple sides in a conflict. Such nations, he said, should act as interlocutors to mediate and sustain peace. In his words: “In any conflict situation, there will be a few who have the ability to engage both sides. Such countries can be utilised … both to achieve peace and to maintain it thereafter.”
Jaishankar invoked terrorism as an existential threat to development, insisting that global tolerance must end: “It is imperative that the world display neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities. Those who act against them … render a larger service to the international community as a whole.” He emphasised the interconnectedness of security and growth, framing counterterrorism as a collective duty.
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