Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukraine on Friday to pay his respects. Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hugged each other several times during their visit to an exhibition in Kiev that pays tribute to children killed or abducted by the Russian invader. Every detail of the meeting was designed as a form of rectification and a desire to mend bilateral relations. Modi provoked Ukraine’s anger when he embraced Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8, on his first trip abroad since his re-election as prime minister. That day, several Russian missiles bombed several points in Ukraine, including a children’s hospital in kyiv, killing 44 people across the country.
India has maintained a neutral position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has neither supported international sanctions against Russia, nor supported Zelensky’s peace proposal, nor has it failed to take advantage of the situation to increase its economic and energy relations with Russia. Reuters reported on Thursday that India had overtaken China in July as the main importer of Russian oil. Modi did not criticise Moscow during his state visit to Ukraine: he regretted the pain caused by the invasion, but without pointing the finger at the Kremlin. Nevertheless, the Indian leader wanted to use the meeting with Zelensky to suggest that his country could act as a mediator: “I assure you that in all the efforts that are being made for peace, India is ready to be proactive.”
Modi’s embrace with Putin caused a diplomatic stir. Washington admitted its shock and Zelensky’s words prompted the Indian government to recall the Ukrainian ambassador for consultations. “It is a great disappointment and a huge blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy embrace the world’s bloodiest criminal in Moscow, and on such a day,” said the Ukrainian president after the bombing of the children’s hospital.
“Next to peace”
“India is with Ukraine, ready to play an active role in any peace effort, I myself will contribute to it as a friend,” Modi said in kyiv, adding to Zelensky that his government “has never been neutral, it has always been on the side of peace.” Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian foreign minister, assured the media that his prime minister had shared with the Ukrainian president the content of the dialogue he had held with Putin on the war. The news agency BloombergOn August 19, the Indian diplomatic service had accepted Putin’s request to convey to Zelensky a message from him during his meeting with Modi.
The Ukrainian president described the visit as “very fraternal” and “historic” – the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine – but reiterated his request to his interlocutor that his government sign the resolution of the conclusions of the peace summit held in Switzerland last June. At this meeting with a hundred countries, Kiev finalised a basic document to prepare future negotiations with Russia. India refused to join, arguing that the content is meaningless without Moscow’s participation.
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In the joint statement signed by Zelensky and Modi, the Indian delegation wanted to include a point in which it assures that it will work “in all possible ways” to end the war: “Prime Minister Modi reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement among all parties to develop innovative solutions that are widely accepted and contribute to the early restoration of peace. Modi reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate this early restoration of peace.”
Andrii Yermak, head of Zelensky’s office, explained in an interview with television India TodayYermak said that the president’s peace proposal “is just another platform” and that they are willing to open up to other options. Yermak regretted that India, unlike other countries that maintain fluid relations with Russia – such as China or Brazil – has not proposed alternatives for a possible negotiation. “A country like India can have influence on Russia, in the aggressor country. India’s role can be very important in ending this war.”
Yermak recalled that this nation of the Asian subcontinent maintains its close relationship with Russia due to its historical ties with the Soviet Union, but added that the USSR was not only made up of Russia, but also a republic like Ukraine. Zelensky’s right-hand man surprised the interviewer by warning that no one knows “if Putin is not thinking of attacking India.” “We are also fighting for you,” Yermak added, without specifying whether he had information about a possible Russian aggression on Indian territory.
Ukraine’s allied Western powers have been putting pressure on India since the beginning of the war to distance itself from Russia. Above all, the administration of President Joe Biden has made great efforts to bring Modi closer to the Western bloc, as a counterweight to China’s power and Moscow’s dependence on Beijing.
The Indian and Ukrainian governments signed several agreements in kyiv on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, medicine, science, humanitarian affairs and also defence. This last point is particularly significant and is in line with the efforts of the Western powers to counter the bilateral military relationship between Moscow and New Delhi. Russia is India’s main arms supplier, accounting for 36% of its total imports in 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). SIPRI highlights the change that is taking place because for the first time since the 1960s, Russian arms have accounted for less than 50% of Indian military imports in the last five years.
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