India launched a diplomatic outreach Monday to engage the leadership in both Kiev and Moscow on the eve of US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
The conflict is in its fifth-year amid a refusal by Kiev and its main European backers to engage diplomatically with Russia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy and refused to take sides amid Western attempts to isolate Russia with sanctions on Moscow’s trade partners.
After his call with Modi, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said “India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue.”
India had previously offered a three-part peace plan, which included grain and energy moving through Black Sea ports. The Black Sea corridor remains vital for food security across Africa, Asia, and West Asia.
Zelensky, who referred to Modi’s previous statements on ending the conflict, had only in September called for more pressure on India to end the conflict. “Russia is basing its economy on India, sometimes Turkey and China,” he told the Wall Street Journal. India, which imports the lion’s share of its energy, is a top buyer of Russian crude.
Modi posted on X after that call that he “reiterated India’s firm commitment to contributing in every possible way towards a peaceful resolution” of the conflict. The Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Modi reaffirmed India’s human-centric approach and reiterated New Delhi’s position that the conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
Moscow has been clear that it wants a comprehensive peace agreement with Ukraine that would include security guarantees for both countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in July that Moscow “is in favor of a complete and final end of the conflict” and not a “ceasefire or some kind of pause” that can help Kiev regroup and rearm.
Later on Monday, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar discussed the ongoing diplomatic initiatives and bilateral ties with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Jaishankar last month called for “genuine dialogue” and reminded the West it has “equal stakes” in ending the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran that were impacting the people of the Global South.
Ukrainian, Russian, and American negotiators are in Abu Dhabi for two-day talks – the first direct engagement of the format in over nine months. European representatives are coordinating from the sidelines amid Russian pushback to their being part of the talks.
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