“This is ongoing. If it is yielding results for me, I would naturally continue to look at it.” “Certainly, from India’s perspective, it is better that we reason and we coordinate and we get a solution than we don’t,” he added. “So if that sort of allows other people to engage, I think the world is better off for it.”

Jaishankar was referring to the recent passage of two Indian-flagged vessels, Shivalik and Nanda Devi. The tankers, carrying approximately 92,712 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas, are en route to the Indian ports of Mundra and Kandla, both in Gujarat.

Araghchi told CBS on Sunday that Iran was “open” to countries that want to discuss “safe passage of their vessels”.

However, Araghchi denied that Iran had received anything in exchange, citing a “history of dealing with each other . . . which is the basis on which I engaged”. “It’s not an exchange issue,” he said. “India and Iran have a relationship. And this is a conflict that we regard as something very unfortunate. These are still early days. We have many more ships there. So while this is a welcome development, there is continuing conversation because there is continued work on that,” he added.

Ahead of the meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, he said, “I’d be happy to share with [EU capitals] what we are doing . . . I know many of them have had conversations [with Tehran] as well.”

“Each relationship, frankly, in a way stands on its own merits,” he said when asked if European countries could ape India’s arrangement. “So now, it’s very hard for me to compare this with some other relationship which may or may not have these.”-Agencies