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India skips preparatory meetings in Canada for 2nd peace summit on Ukraine
India had earlier conveyed to Ukraine that participation in these preparatory meetings would not be meaningful without Russia’s presence.
NEW DELHI: India has opted to stay away from two preparatory meetings for the second peace summit on Ukraine being hosted by Canada, including a gathering of national security advisers (NSAs) of various countries this week, people familiar with the matter said.
The meeting of NSAs was scheduled in Toronto on Friday, while a conference of foreign ministers on the return of prisoners and deported civilians is being jointly hosted by Canada and Norway in Montreal on October 30-31, the people said on condition of anonymity.
Though there was speculation the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was the reason behind New Delhi’s decision, the people said the Indian side had conveyed to Ukraine’s leadership some time back that participation in these preparatory meetings would not be meaningful without Russia’s presence.
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With India-Canada relations currently at an all-time low following the recent expulsion of six diplomats each by both sides, it was unlikely that India’s NSA or any other official from the National Security Council would have attended the meeting in Toronto, the people said.
There was no word from Indian officials on the development.
The diplomatic row, triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation last year that Indian government agents were linked to Nijjar’s killing, flared up again this month after Canadian law enforcement named the Indian envoy in Ottawa and five other diplomats as “persons of interest” in their investigation.
“These meetings on Ukraine’s peace formula are discussing a plan for negotiations with Russia but it will be difficult to take things forward when Russia itself isn’t at the table,” one of the people cited above said. The people noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at their meeting in August that a solution can’t be found without engaging Russia.
Both meetings in Canada are part of a series of conferences being hosted by different countries in preparation for the second peace summit on Ukraine, which the administration in Kyiv plans to hold in early November. While a venue is yet to be finalised, Austria has offered to host the second summit, the people said.
India participated in several meetings of NSAs – either at the level of the NSA or deputy NSA – held ahead of the first peace summit on Ukraine, which was hosted by Switzerland in June. It also sent senior diplomats to other conferences and Pavan Kapoor, former secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, represented the country at the first peace summit, where New Delhi didn’t sign on the joint communique.
Though India has chosen not to attend the two meetings in Canada, the people said contacts have continued between senior Indian and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks, including prior to Modi’s visit to Russia, where he held a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
On October 15, a representative of the Indian embassy in Kyiv attended a meeting between ambassadors of G20 states and Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff for Zelensky, and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha to discuss the implementation of Ukraine’s peace formula.
During that meeting, Yermak said the conferences on the peace formula will be completed in October.
The outcomes of the conferences will be summarised in a joint document that will be ready by early November, Yermak was quoted as saying in a Ukrainian readout.
India’s ambassador to Ukraine, Ravi Shankar, met Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, on October 16, and discussed Zelensky’s “victory plan”, according to a separate readout. Shankar was quoted as saying that India “appreciates Ukraine’s aspirations for a just peace”.
