Saying that “everything has its time”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the possibility of India playing a role in initiating peace in the ongoing West Asia conflict cannot be ruled out.
Singh made these comments during an interaction with the Indian community on Tuesday in Berlin, where he is on a three-day official visit.
Responding to a question on India’s possible role in initiating peace in West Asia, he said: “Bharat ne koshish ki apni taraf se. Lekin aap jaante hai ki kabhi kabhi kahin koi crisis chal rahi hoti hai, kahin koi samasya rahti hai. Sabka ek samay hua karta hai. Ho sakta hai kal ka woh samay aa jaye jab ko Bharat usme apna role play kare, usko success bhi haasil ho jaye. Iss possibility ko rule out nahi kiya jaa sakta.”
(“India has tried on its part. But you know that sometimes there is an ongoing crisis, a situation. Everything has its time. It is possible that tomorrow, the time may come when India plays its role in this and achieves success as well. We cannot rule out this possibility.”)
“The Prime Minister has appealed to both sides to end the war. Our Prime Minister has a very balanced approach to diplomatic matters,” he said.
“The way India is moving, you must have seen that in the Strait of Hormuz, no ship from any country was able to pass through. If anyone managed to pass through seven-eight ships, it was India,” he said.
He said neither the US nor Iran considers India an enemy, and this was because of India’s balanced approach towards the crisis.
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Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also discussed the matter when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Even when he met US President Donald Trump, he discussed the matter and said that a solution should be found,” he said.
Singh said that India was the least affected country in the West Asia crisis. “Whether it is crude oil, energy, or LPG, and other things, even today, we have enough stocks. The Prime Minister has made a committee of a few senior ministers under my chairmanship. I attend it every week, and I review it regularly. There is no particular problem. There are some forces that have tried to create a crisis. But they have also been taught a lesson,” he said.
He also noted that Indian nationals stranded abroad had been evacuated.
Referring to Operation Sindoor, Singh said India’s military power has become stronger than before. “India has never attacked any country on its own, but if a neighbour tries to create trouble, then ‘dot, dot, dot’. All neighbours are fine, only one is troublesome,” he said.
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He said that while India earlier depended on imports for defence requirements, “now, instead of being importers, we have become exporters”. Singh said that India had exported defence items worth approximately Rs 39,000 crore this time.
He described the nearly 300,000-strong Indian diaspora as the strongest bridge between the two countries, with contributions spanning across business, technology, healthcare, academia and arts. He exhorted the diaspora to promote India’s perspective globally and deepen economic ties.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence said Singh also underlined that India’s stature on the global stage has grown under Modi’s leadership. “Earlier, India’s words at international fora were not heeded; but today, the whole world listens carefully,” he said.
Singh also spoke about India’s economic growth and technological progress, pointing to advances in infrastructure, start-ups, space and digital innovation. He said the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat was aimed at strengthening domestic capabilities, boosting manufacturing, and reducing dependence on imports.
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He noted that 2026 marks 75 years of diplomatic relations with Germany, built on trust, mutual respect and shared democratic values.
Earlier, Singh also addressed the German Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Security. “For a developing country like India, which relies on the West Asian region for a significant share of its energy requirements, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not distant events, they are stark realities with direct implications for our security and economic stability,” he said.