This story is from February 16, 2020

Foreign minister S Jaishankar firmly rebutted attempts by a US senator to raise Kashmir at the Munich Security Conference , responding to the US politician’s remark that he hoped “two democracies” will settle the matter, saying one democracy would and there was no prize for guessing which one.

“Do not worry, senator. One democracy will settle it and you know which one,” Jaishankar told Senator Lindsey Graham , a Republican, during a panel discussion after the US politician said the best way to “sell” democracy will be to settle the Kashmir issue in a democratic way.

“In India, you are moving forward, you got your problems like we do at home, but you've chosen the democratic path. When it comes to Kashmir, I don’t know how it ends, but let’s make sure that two democracies will end it differently. If you can prove that concept here, then I think that’s probably the best way to sell democracy,” the senator said.

Jaishankar’s immediate put-down seemed to reflect India’s impatience about western commentary that either ignores the role of Pakistan in backing terror groups — and separatists — intent on carrying out attacks in Jammu & Kashmir or an assumed equivalence that places India and Pakistan on the same footing.

Graham was among four senators who wrote to US secretary of state Mike Pompeo last week, ahead of President Donald Trump ’s visit to India, expressing concern about the restrictions in Kashmir and saying that the Indian government’s action threatened the rights of certain religious minorities.

During the discussion, Jaishankar also said that the United Nations is far less credible than before and “something” should be done about it. “The United Nations is far less credible than it has been in history, which is not entirely surprising because when you think about it, there are not too many things which are 75 years old and still as good as they were. Clearly there is something that needs to be done there.”

He also spoke about “westlessness” and multilateralism at the panel discussion. “Clearly multilateralism has become weaker, and clearly westlessness is in evidence and I would suggest that there is a correlation between the two. It is not to say that multilateralism is solely dependent on the West, or that the West has been faithfully multilateral,” he said.

Jaishankar also met US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Munich. He said her “consistent support” to India-US ties had always been a great source of strength.

Jaishankar arrived in Munich on Friday for the prestigious security conference during which he is expected to outline India’s views on several issues of global concern. “Such a pleasure to catch up with Speaker Pelosi,” Jaishankar tweeted. He also met US ambassador to the UN Kelly Knight Craft on the sidelines of the conference on Friday.

