Indian foreign minister slams the West for choosing Pakistan’s ‘military dictatorship’ over India for weapon imports

Jaishankar says India‘s relationship with Russia ‘certainly served our interests well’

India’s external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar before meeting Australian foreign minister Penny Wong ahead of a bilateral meeting at Parliament House in Canberra (EPA)

India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar slammed Western countries for not supplying weapons to India and instead preferring a “military dictatorship”, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

The Indian minister was defending New Delhi’s “long-standing” defence ties with Moscow while addressing a joint news conference on Monday with Australian foreign minister Penny Wong after the two held a bilateral meeting at Parliament House.

Mr Jaishankar was asked whether India is re-thinking its ties with Russia and its dependency on imports of weapons following the war in Ukraine.