Quad not a military grouping, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad is not a military grouping, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, adding it is now engaged in working together to help countries to deal with humanitarian situations in natural disasters.

“We are working on things that are really critical,” Blinken said at a panel discussion of the Quad Foreign Ministers themed “The Quad Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon” in the national capital.
The Quad Foreign Ministers meet on the sidelines of the eighth edition of the Raisina Dialogue the flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-strategy organised by the Ministry of External Affairs with the Observer Research Foundation. India, US, Japan and Australia are members of the Quad grouping.

“Quad is not a military grouping…but one of the things that we are doing through the Quad is trying to bring together not only governments, academia, experts to look at where we can collaborate together on the technology, on innovation, benefits in other areas that remains to be seen. But clearly, our four countries in particular are very well placed to increase in a variety of ways our collaboration…,” Blinken said.

Quad according to the US Secretary of State is a force for good, positive, and affirmative action.

On Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, Blinked said that allowing Russia to do what it is doing will be a message to aggressors everywhere.

“If we allow Russia to do what it is doing in Ukraine then that’s a message to the aggressors everwhere that they may be able to get away with it too,” Blinken said at the discussion chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and where Foreign Ministers of Australia, Penny Wong and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi participated.

“For us the future is so much in Indo-Pacific…Even as we are rightly focussed on what is happening in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression, not just because it matters to Ukrainians and to Ukraine and Europe, but because it matters to the entire world,” Blinken said.

The eighth edition of the Raisina Dialogue, from March 2-4 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and chief guest Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivered the keynote speech .

The conference, organised under the theme “Provocation, Uncertainty, Turbulence: Lighthouse in the Tempest?” is witnessing the participation of representatives from over 100 countries.