00:00so my first question would be about your views on the ongoing conflict in the middle east
00:05the situation appears to be worsening by the day and the conflict is deepening
00:11what is your first reaction to it sir
00:16the conflict in the middle east i sincerely believe is an existential threat
00:24to international peace and security it is vital that all members of the international community
00:35the global community as a whole speak with one voice
00:44enough of war and violence we need everyone to come
00:53to the negotiation table talks should prevail over conflict war as an instrument of policy
01:08should not be promoted and prioritized and encouraged we as a country
01:16are facing multifarious challenges
01:23we are in a very vulnerable situation having gone through quadruple tragedies and disasters
01:31the easter sunday conflict bankruptcy corona covid the ditva cyclone and this is the fifth successive
01:43global
01:45tragedy an international tragedy and also it has become a domestic tragedy
01:53and we have to ensure that we somehow insulate our people from the shocks that emanate from this crisis
02:03this is the same for the rest of the members of the international community
02:07so pacific
02:10so pacific
02:11resolution of disputes
02:13peaceful
02:14resolution of disputes
02:17must be encouraged and promote
02:20this is of
02:23indispensable importance
02:25to ensure
02:27global peace progress
02:30and prosperity
02:33so the conflict or has also reached our region
02:36an iranian ship was torpedoed by a us submarine in the waters near sri lanka
02:42and india
02:43sri lanka has rescued iranian naval personnel
02:47and two remaining iranian vessels are now docked along indian and sri lankan coasts
02:53what do you make of this entire episode that happened in
02:56our region so
03:02we have to ensure that
03:06in the conduct of
03:09international relations and governmental policies
03:14that we adhere to the highest standards of ethics and morality
03:21we have to ensure that we abide by
03:24the norms conventions customs
03:28and also prescriptions provided by international law and international humanitarian law
03:35what we have
03:37in this conflict today
03:40is the prevalence of unilateralism
03:45over multilateralism
03:47in this conflict
03:49sri lanka as i told you before
03:52is
03:53facing
03:55multiple challenges
03:59and we are a risk-prone country
04:03at this particular junction
04:07as such
04:08we need to protect
04:10our interests
04:11our national interests
04:14and also the interests of 22 million people
04:18while at the same time
04:20we have to adhere to the highest standards
04:25of
04:26ethics and morality
04:29adhering to
04:31the prescriptions
04:32of international law
04:34international law
04:36this attack took place
04:38beyond our territorial waters
04:42that is beyond the 12 nautical miles
04:46of territorial waters
04:48but it was within our exclusive economic zone
04:54and
04:55in fact
04:57this is an occurrence
04:59that is a threat to international peace and security
05:03particularly
05:05in a zone that has been declared
05:08free of conflict
05:11and of course free of nuclear weapons
05:14so bringing all these
05:17viewpoints
05:18and suggestions
05:22we need to ensure that
05:25as a country
05:27as a proud sovereign country
05:30we have to articulate ourselves
05:32to ensure that
05:34we follow the twin objectives
05:38of on the one hand protecting our national interest
05:41and also on the other hand
05:43abiding by the prescriptions
05:47of international law
05:50so
05:51you mentioned about the unilateral actions
05:53there are now reports
05:56that are coming out
05:57that United States is pressing
05:58Sri Lankan government
05:59not to repatriate the survivors
06:02of the
06:02Iranian warship that sank
06:06as well as the crew of a second
06:08ship
06:10that is in the
06:11that is
06:12that are there
06:13how do you want to react to
06:15these reports that are coming out
06:17sir
06:19initially
06:21news reports suggested
06:25regarding this issue
06:29however
06:31i think the United States
06:35administration
06:36or let me say administrative sources
06:39have apparently
06:42told Sri Lanka
06:44that Sri Lanka has the
06:47the freedom to decide
06:49as to what
06:51policies
06:52Sri Lanka should adopt
06:53with regard to the
06:54vessels
06:56and also the sailors
07:00of course
07:01of course
07:02i believe that
07:06from a position of neutrality
07:09which has been Sri Lanka's position
07:14we need to follow international agreements
07:17and conventions
07:18you know very well
07:20you know very well
07:20the Hague convention
07:22with regard to neutrality
07:24the
07:25United Nations
07:26convention on the law of the sea
07:30the
07:32multiplicity of
07:33Geneva conventions
07:36conventions
07:37against torture
07:40conventions with regard to refugees
07:42so there are multiple legal instruments
07:48that we have to adopt
07:51when considering this issue
07:54so i want to clarify
07:57previous reports
07:59of
08:01U.S. pressure
08:03with regard to
08:05what action to take
08:06in terms of the personnel
08:09who entered Sri Lanka
08:11i think those
08:13reports have been
08:17kind of
08:20corrected
08:22and the United States have
08:24apparently the administration sources have stated
08:28that Sri Lanka has the freedom
08:30to decide on the future
08:33of those
08:34personnel who were saved
08:37Sir you already mentioned
08:38Sri Lanka witnessed several crises
08:40in past few years
08:41it is trying to revive its economy
08:45but we are now seeing the
08:47we are now witnessing
08:49the impact of the war
08:51oil prices have crossed
08:52USD
08:541110 per barrel
08:55for the first time since 2022
08:58as well as global
08:59global stock markets are reacting
09:01very sharply
09:03what impact do you see
09:05this war is having on Sri Lanka
09:07and are you witnessing any kind of impact
09:09economic impact so to say so
09:12the oil price hikes
09:17the downturns in the stock markets
09:19the general economic insecurity
09:25that is created
09:28issues with regard to energy security
09:31food security
09:33these will have a direct impact
09:37a direct detrimental impact
09:40on the lives of all Sri Lankans
09:43this is why
09:46we as members of the global south
09:49we cannot stay silent
09:53as spectators
09:55while this
09:57cataclysmic event
09:58the middle east war
10:01is taking place
10:03because this war
10:05will have
10:06catastrophic consequences
10:08for all nation states
10:10including Sri Lanka
10:13the vulnerable sectors of society
10:17will be
10:19impacted the worst
10:22the children
10:23mothers
10:25women
10:26youth
10:28disabled
10:29unemployed
10:31those who are already
10:34suffering from poverty and deprivation
10:37they will suffer the most
10:40so it's
10:42imperative
10:44that Sri Lanka
10:46and all of the other members of the global south
10:51that we initiate
10:54an international effort
10:56to persuade
10:59parties to the conflict
11:01to talk
11:04rather than use war
11:07as an instrument of policy
11:09this is very important
11:11and it is of utmost importance
11:14day by day
11:16scarcities are created
11:19and
11:20wonderful sectors of society
11:23will suffer to a great extent
11:27most will end up being in hunger
11:31and
11:31this is
11:32not what we want
11:34for our people
11:36so you have mentioned that the countries in global south cannot sit silence
11:40what role do you
11:43like
11:43do you see countries like
11:45Sri Lanka and India playing in this conflict
11:48what role can they play
11:52i think his excellency
11:55the prime minister of India
11:56Shri Modi
12:00has a wonderful opportunity
12:03to use
12:05the good offices
12:07of India
12:09as a powerful nation state
12:12to make an impact
12:16in international affairs and world affairs
12:19for the greater good of humankind
12:22i believe india possesses
12:26adequate
12:29power and influence
12:31to ensure that parties to the conflict
12:35come to a
12:37discussion table
12:39and talk over the
12:43viewpoints
12:45which they have in terms of
12:48the major issues that are dominating
12:50because
12:51the war commenced
12:54and the reason that was given was
12:57nuclear proliferation
12:59so
13:01i think
13:02it's high time
13:04that there was an immediate
13:06cessation of hostilities
13:09consider the greater good of humankind
13:12because peace
13:15is vital
13:16for global prosperity
13:19and prosperity of nation states
13:21and it is very important
13:24that we use this opportunity
13:27to promote peace
13:28and i believe
13:30Shri Modi his excellency
13:32the Paris of India
13:33has a unique opportunity
13:36to be the
13:39statesman
13:41who promotes peace
13:45as a statesman
13:46who can push
13:49the warring countries
13:51towards
13:53a middle-of-the-path
13:55approach
13:58to issues
13:59which they have major disagreements on
14:03sri lanka
14:04too
14:06cannot be
14:08a mere spectator
14:11we can't be a mere observer
14:14we should use
14:16our talents
14:17our capabilities
14:20and
14:22the unique skills that we possess
14:25as a nation state
14:27to promote
14:28peacemaking
14:30to promote
14:31conflict resolution
14:34we ourselves are a country
14:37that has been
14:39victims
14:40of
14:41more than
14:42three decade long
14:43conflict
14:45and
14:47we ourselves realize
14:48the importance of peace
14:51the value of peace
14:52to promote
14:54progress
14:54and prosperity
14:56so as such
14:58sri lanka
15:00however much
15:01vulnerable we are
15:03we also have
15:04a very very
15:05important role to play
15:07in bringing about
15:10peace
15:11and reconciliation
15:14and
15:15most important of all
15:17talks
15:19is the way to go forward
15:20not conflict
15:23finally sir
15:24i just want to ask you
15:26there are questions
15:28are being raised about the role of
15:30united nations
15:31whether
15:31multilateral systems are becoming
15:33increasingly
15:34ineffective
15:36in preventing or resolving
15:37such conflicts that are
15:38rising around the world
15:40do you agree with this thought
15:41and how do you see
15:43the role of global institutions
15:45such as
15:46UN in this situation sir
15:49the united nations
15:52system of
15:54global governance
15:57emanated from
16:00the post
16:01world war ii period
16:04and it was a structure that was established
16:08with prescriptive norms
16:11norms that would
16:13deprive the use of force
16:15article 2-4
16:18norms that would prevent
16:21intervention in the internal affairs of a state
16:24article 2-7
16:27use of force
16:29only for self-defense
16:31article 51
16:33so these norms
16:36were initiated and formulated
16:40to promote international peace and security
16:44and we have to give credit to the fact that
16:47there has not been
16:49any major world wars
16:52in the post
16:54world war ii period
16:55up to this date
16:58but the danger of
17:00the present war
17:02is the fact that
17:05it could convert itself
17:09into
17:10the furtherance of
17:14global
17:15power competition
17:18amongst
17:19the great powers
17:20the superpowers
17:23and it could be a continuation of the
17:27cold war
17:28in fact transforming the cold war into a hot war
17:32which is very very scary
17:35which i believe would be apocalyptic
17:40and it is very important that we avoid that
17:45to the greatest possible extent
17:47we have to abide by
17:49the provisions
17:51the prescriptions
17:53that are provided by the united nations charter
17:57the united nations charter has established
18:01an international
18:03regime
18:04of rules regulations norms
18:07which protect
18:10members of the international community nation states in the global community
18:15and we must ensure
18:18that the united nations charter provisions
18:22are protected
18:23and enhanced
18:25to the greatest possible extent
18:27the united nations system
18:30should also reflect
18:32the global power configuration
18:34which is why
18:36i have been an open
18:38proponent
18:39of india
18:42being made a permanent member
18:45in the united nations
18:46security council
18:48as you know very well
18:49the five permanent members
18:51of the un security council
18:54right now
18:55they have
18:57the major enforcement powers
19:00of the un system
19:01and i certainly think
19:04that a peace-loving country
19:06such as india
19:08must be given its due place
19:10because
19:11it's
19:12a very pragmatic
19:13and realistic reflection
19:16of
19:17global power realities
19:18of
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