New Delhi, April 9 Spotlighting that India continues to pursue its national interests strongly amid the ongoing geopolitical conflicts, Reuven Azar, the Ambassador of Israel to India, on Thursday lauded New Delhi's stance on unimpeded freedom of navigation as efforts continue to resume the use of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz.
"India is pursuing its interests. We are very pleased with our bilateral relations, especially after the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Israel, which resulted in many good results including agreements in defence, finance, infrastructure, technology, AI, education and many more. We are encouraged by India's support for free maritime navigation. It is important that countries work together to uphold international law and prevent coercion in global waterways," Azar told IANS in an exclusive interview.
On Wednesday, India welcomed the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran, hoping that it will lead to a lasting peace in West Asia.
"As we have continuously advocated earlier, de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy are essential to bring an early end to the ongoing conflict. The conflict has already caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks. We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
India has maintained that it has always been in favour of peace and welcomed all steps that lead to peace and stability while hoping that the latest development in West Asia will also encourage peace efforts in Ukraine.
The Israeli Ambassador emphasised that Iran's actions have brought many countries together lately.
"People now understand how aggressive this regime is and they also understand that if Iran would have been allowed to execute these terrible threats against us, then the situation would have been in much worse condition. There is now greater awareness of the threat posed by the regime," he told IANS.
He mentioned that, after the removal of "existential threats" - mainly Iran's military nuclear programme - Israel is hoping that the Iranian regime will start cooperating with the US on the broader plan for cessation of hostilities which have kept the entire world on edge for the past many weeks.
"We are very satisfied. We have exhausted our military operation, and we are glad now that diplomacy will be given a chance again. We hope that this regime finally embraces the moment and decides to cooperate with the 15-point plan of President Trump. If that happens, not only will they receive relief, but the entire region will benefit. We sincerely hope that this happens. However, we stand ready in case they do not respect the ceasefire, or if they decide to again stall for time. We are prepared with our forces and will defend ourselves if they choose to resume hostilities," the Israeli diplomat stated.
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