US exemption for Chabahar port earns praise from India
India on Thursday said it has “interests†in West Asia and the Persian Gulf region and wants the situation to “de-escalate at the earliestâ€
New Delhi: Following the recent eruption of tensions between Iran and the United States, India on Thursday said it has “interests” in West Asia and the Persian Gulf region and wants the situation to “de-escalate at the earliest”.
India said it “appreciated the understanding shown by the United States in exempting the Chabahar port from sanctions”. India has been worried over a possible fall-out on its strategic port development project at Chabahar in Iran which provides sea-land connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan.
“In the past, the United States has shown understanding on the importance of Chabahar to us and connectivity to Afghanistan... We appreciate the understanding sho-wn by the US in exempting Chabahar port from sanctions,” the MEA said.
It added, “peace, security and stability are of utmost importance” to India which would like the situation to “de-escalate at the earliest”.
Significantly, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif is expected to visit New Delhi next week to participate in the Raisina Dialogue conference in the Capital.
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar had last month visited the Iranian capital Tehran for the 19th session of the India-Iran Joint Commission on December 22.