made by Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam reflects the views of the Singapore government, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament on Monday .
In her supplementary questions, Ms Lim asked Dr Balakrishnan whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was aware of Mr Shanmugam's speech prior to its delivery. "I would like him to confirm that up to now the government has not taken this position and this is actually something new in the public domain," she said.
"But reflecting the diversity of views does not alter our national position based on a defence of our national interests," he said. Asking her final supplementary question, Ms Lim questioned whether Dr Balakrishnan would rather not go into historical matters such as the involvement of the West and NATO in the situation in Ukraine.
"And I say it my way, but I think and I believe that my statements are entirely consistent with the rest of my Cabinet colleagues. And we stand and we take collective responsibility for them."Commentary: A year on, Russia’s war on Ukraine threatens to redraw the map of world politicsEarlier, MP Vikram Nair asked Mr Shanmugam to elaborate on the concept of"indivisible security", which Russia has used to justify its invasion of Ukraine.