India calls on Persian Gulf nations to resolve differences through respectful dialogue

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Defence Minister Rajnath noting India's vital interests and links of culture with the nations.

Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh attends the Joint Meeting of the Heads of Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) members, in Moscow on Friday. | ANI

Moscow: India on Friday said that it was deeply concerned about the situation in the Persian Gulf and called upon the countries in the region to resolve their differences by dialogue based on mutual respect.

A series of incidents in the Persian Gulf involving Iran, the US and the UAE in recent weeks have flared up tension in the region.

We are deeply concerned about the situation in the Persian Gulf, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in his address at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here.

Noting that India has vital interests and links of civilisation and culture with all states in the Gulf, Singh called upon the countries in the region to resolve differences by dialogue based on mutual respect.

We call upon countries in the region all of which are dear and friendly to India, to resolve differences by dialogue based on mutual respect, sovereignty and non interference in internal affairs of each other, he said in his address at the combined meeting of defence ministers of the SCO, Collective Security Treaty Organisation and Commonwealth of Independent States member states.

Last month, Iranian navy briefly seized control of a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in what the US said were international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond.

Iran has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States tries to strangle its economy.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, 21 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil flowed through it in 2018, or the equivalent of about 21 per cent of global petroleum liquids demand at the time.

Iran has observer status in the SCO, which was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc in 2017.