India is ready to play the role of bringing peace to Ukraine

New Delhi – During a landmark visit to war-torn Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was ready to play an active role “as a friend” in efforts to achieve peace and stressed the need for talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Modi’s comments came as he sat alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Friday after the two leaders held talks that focused on the conflict that erupted more than two years ago following the invasion Russia.

“The path to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in this direction without wasting time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis,” Modi said.

The first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine came six weeks after Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Modi denied that India, which has been criticized by Kiev and its Western allies for not condemning Russian aggression, had taken a neutral stance on the war. “We have taken sides and are firm for peace,” he said.

He also said that India supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

Before the talks began, Modi and Zelenskyi visited a memorial commemorating Ukrainian children who were killed during the conflict. “Children in every country deserve to live safely,” Zelensky wrote in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. — We must make this possible.

Modi said, “My heart goes out to the families of the children who lost their lives.

Modi’s visit to Moscow on July 8-9 coincided with Russian missile attacks on a children’s hospital and other targets in Ukraine, which killed civilians. It led to a sharp rebuke from Zelensky, who said it was “a big disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts” to see the Indian leader embrace Putin “on such a day”. .

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev, Ukraine, August 23, 2024.

On Friday, Zelenskyi called Modi’s visit “friendly” and symbolic – it took place a day before Ukraine’s Independence Day.

India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told reporters that many of the talks between Modi and Zelensky focused on the conflict.

“In my mind, I probably brought up points or issues that they (Ukraine) may or may not have been aware of here. He felt that this is a very complex issue, but there could be more ways to approach peace,” he said.

In Ukraine, the visit by a close ally of Moscow is seen as part of a diplomatic attempt to gain wider support from countries that have taken a neutral position in the conflict.

Modi’s visit to Kiev was significant because New Delhi “really has some influence” on Moscow, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Ukrainian president’s office, told Reuters.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute at a monument dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in Kiev, Ukraine, August 23, 2024.

Modi’s trip, analysts say, is also a signal that while India has not joined Western countries to isolate Russia, it wants to build independent ties with both countries.

In a bid to boost economic and trade ties that have suffered since the war broke out, India and Ukraine have signed four agreements to increase cooperation in sectors such as agriculture and community development projects.

“This visit is aimed at building a relationship with Ukraine and conveying a message that India would like to befriend each country. He is worried about the war, especially its impact on the energy and food security of many countries,” according to Chintamani Mahapatra, founder of the Kalinga Institute for Indo-Pacific Studies in New Delhi.

Analysts also pointed out that Modi’s trip to Ukraine will have nothing to do with New Delhi’s warm relationship with the Kremlin. Trade ties with Moscow have grown as India imports record amounts of Russian oil, while defense ties are crucial for a country still heavily dependent on Russian weaponry.

“Since Russia’s engagement with China does not affect its relationship with India, India’s equations with Ukraine will not change its equation with Russia,” foreign policy analyst C. Raja Mohan wrote in The Indian Express newspaper. He further stressed that if New Delhi wants to play the peacemaker, it needs to engage with “the other side”.

Before reaching Ukraine, Modi visited Poland, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed optimism that India could play an important role in ending the war.

“I am very glad that the prime minister has confirmed his willingness to commit himself personally to achieving a peaceful, just and swift end to the war,” Tusk told reporters on Thursday.