India - Russia: Modi-Putin Talks - Brokering Peace in Ukraine

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India - Russia: Modi-Putin Talks - Brokering Peace in Ukraine

In his fifth phone conversation this year with President Putin since the Russian invasion in February, Prime Minister Modi has reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward. When the two leaders last met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan in September, Modi had told Putin that this was not an era of war. This was reflected in the G20’s Bali Declaration as well.

 

India as mediator in Ukraine

New Delhi’s balancing act on the war and its unique position, as a friend of both Russia and the West, writes The Tribune “has resulted in its potential for mediation increasing. Leading the G20 could see its role as a mediator gaining prominence.

Washington has been  welcoming the calls for the cessation of violence. The pursuit of peace is a worthy cause, “but New Delhi has to tread carefully as its bold neutrality is put to the test.”

G20 platform to broker peace in Ukraine: Behind closed doors,  writes K P Nayar (Strategic Analyst) “India is likely to use the G20 platform to broker peace in Ukraine. Fear of failure in such a daring initiative, will keep any peace-making secret until it has a chance of success. The Russian statement on Modi’s conversation on December 16 with President Putin read: ‘At the request of Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin gave fundamental assessments of Russia’s line on the Ukrainian direction.’ This significant line, pregnant with possibilities, was understandably missing from the Indian statement.”

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