New Delhi India asserted on Friday that a solution to the conflict in Ukraine can’t be found without engaging Russia, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that New Delhi’s position is not neutral, but on “the side of peace”.
Modi became the first Indian premier to travel to Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, and the visit was seen as part of New Delhi’s delicate balancing act on the conflict, especially after his trip to Russia last month for an annual summit with President Vladimir Putin.
Amid widespread speculation about India’s role in peace efforts, Modi said he came with a “message of peace” from 1.4 billion Indians and the countries of the Global South, and a solution can only emerge through talks between Russia and Ukraine. He also conveyed India’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The path to a solution emerges from dialogue and diplomacy and, without wasting time, we should move in that direction. The two sides should sit together and search for ways to get out of this hour of crisis,” Modi said in televised opening remarks at his meeting with Zelensky, speaking in Hindi.
He said he had informed Putin, too, that hostilities wouldn’t lead to a solution. “When I met President Putin sometime ago, in front of the media and looking him in the eye, I told him that this is not the era of war. When I travelled to Russia recently to meet him, I spoke my mind clearly and said the solution to any problem cannot be found on the battlefield,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said he had informed Putin, too, that hostilities wouldn’t lead to a solution. “When I met President Putin sometime ago, in front of the media and looking him in the eye, I told him that this is not the era of war. When I travelled to Russia recently to meet him, I spoke my mind clearly and said the solution to any problem cannot be found on the battlefield,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}India, Modi assured Zelensky, is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. “In my personal capacity, if I can make any contribution, then I will certainly do it as a friend, I assure you,” he said.
Read more: ‘You have a big influence, can stop Putin’: Zelenskyy to India on Ukraine war
Modi sought to address criticism in the West and Ukraine about India not taking a position on the conflict. India, he said, had adopted two roles, the first of which was providing humanitarian assistance. “I assure you from a humanitarian viewpoint, whatever help is needed, India will always stand with you and walk two steps ahead,” he said.
“The second role we chose was to stay away from the war. We have stayed away from the war with a lot of conviction, but this does not mean we were neutral...From the very first day, we were on the side of peace. We come from the land of the Buddha, where there is no place for war. We come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, who gave the whole world the message of peace.”
Zelensky described Modi’s visit as a “historic moment” and thanked India for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also thanked the Indian side for humanitarian aid provided over the past two years.
“I express my gratitude that Prime Minister Modi started his visit with a commemoration of the Ukrainian children whose lives were taken due to Russian aggression,” Zelensky said, referring to their visit to a museum exhibit dedicated to children killed in the conflict.
India has so far refrained from publicly criticising Russia’s invasion and largely abstained on all Ukraine-related resolutions at the UN. It also stepped up the purchase of discounted Russian commodities, especially oil, despite criticism from Ukraine, with Indian leaders saying this was necessary to control energy prices amid volatility in the global market.
Zelensky said ending the war and ensuring a just and lasting peace for Ukraine is a priority. He said moving forward with the global peace summit mechanism was another priority for Ukraine and sought India’s high-level participation in the next summit. “We want all countries to join hands in solving the crises created by Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he said.
Read more: Watch: Ukrainian students learning Hindi impress PM, girl sings ‘Vande Mataram’
While India participated in the first Summit for Peace in Ukraine hosted by Switzerland in June, it didn’t sign off on the joint communique. Zelensky said preparatory meetings for next summit are already underway, with the focus on energy and food security.
Talking to reporters later, however, Zelensky raised concerns over India’s trade ties with Russia during the war, saying it was inadvertently helping fuel Putin’s “war economy”.
Briefing the media after the talks, external affairs minister S Jaishankar pointed to a joint statement to emphasise India’s position on the conflict. The statement quoted Modi reiterating the “need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace”.
“We find the civilian and humanitarian toll of this conflict particularly distressing. It’s also India’s view that the two sides need to engage each other to find a solution,” he said.
Jaishankar gave details of India’s association with efforts led by different countries to address the conflict, such as supporting Turkiye’s efforts in 2022 to open up the Black Sea corridor for grain exports from Ukraine. In September 2022, after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal brought up concerns regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power with India, “we had been...directly in touch with the Russians and then back to the Ukrainian side, [we had] also been in touch with IAEA director general Rafael Grossi”.
Jaishankar said Modi briefed Zelensky about his discussions with Putin in July and sought the Ukrainian leader’s assessment of the ground situation and diplomatic scenario. Characterising the discussions as “open and constructive”, he said the two sides also talked about medium-term concerns such as food and energy security and “conceivable pathways to peace and conflict resolution”.
Responding to specific questions on whether India’s energy trade with Russia figured in the talks, Jaishankar said this issue was not discussed at “great length”. The Indian side explained the energy market scenario and the fact that key energy producers that earlier supplied oil to India, such as Iran and Venezuela, were sanctioned and this has made the “market very tight”.
India’s oil purchases are decided by a market strategy, and it is in the international economy’s interests that oil prices remain reasonable and stable, Jaishankar said.
The two sides signed four agreements for cooperation in agriculture, regulation of medical products, community development projects and culture. The Indian side handed over several Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM), a system of cubes containing medicines and equipment that can be rapidly deployed.
Modi also invited Zelensky to visit India, and Jaishankar said the Indian side expected the Ukrainian leader to make the trip “at his convenience”.