Photo: Office of the President
Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar said in a speech at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York that the Russian-Ukrainian war will not be resolved on the battlefield. He added that he supports communication with Russia and Ukraine, hoping to start peace talks.
This was reported by The Hindu.
«This is a kind of reconnaissance that we are conducting. This does not mean that we have a peace plan», — the Indian Foreign Minister stressed.
He is confident that the Russian-Ukrainian war cannot be resolved on the battlefield. Therefore, he said, the Indian government is talking to both countries. The goal is to understand whether it can speed up the end of the war and start «serious negotiations».
The minister said that India is sharing conversations with both countries. He added that both Kyiv and Moscow «appreciate it».
As a reminder, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine in August on an official visit. This is the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country gained independence in 1991.
«The historic meeting is expected to focus on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has been going on for more than two and a half years since the Russian invasion.»
The Indian politician arrived in Kyiv on the morning of 23 August. Before their personal talks, the leaders paid tribute to the children who died as a result of Russia’s armed aggression. In particular, they laid toys at the Children’s multimedia martyrology site in Kyiv and observed a minute of silence in memory of the young Ukrainians who were killed.
India has always tried to stay as far away from the Russian-Ukrainian war as possible, but this does not mean that it was completely indifferent. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
According to Modi, India played a «dual role» in Russia’s war against Ukraine. First and foremost, it is humanitarian aid to the affected Ukrainians.
«During the crisis, there are several types of assistance that the people of Ukraine needed, and to meet those needs, we adopted a humanitarian perspective and we tried our best to meet those needs», — he said.
The second aspect of India’s role in the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to the Indian prime minister, is to «stay as far away from it as possible».
In addition, on 23 September, President Zelensky met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This meeting took place a month after Modi’s visit to Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Narendra Modi discussed the implementation of cooperation in the areas agreed upon during the Indian Prime Minister’s historic visit to Kyiv a month ago. Back then, they talked about intensifying trade, economic and defence cooperation, involving India in post-war reconstruction, as well as cooperation in education, science and culture.