Editorial: India as peacemaker

The proposed peace summit in Switzerland can be a good starting point to find a lasting solution and end the Ukraine war

India has the required diplomatic heft to play a peacemaker role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This was demonstrated once again during the recent engagements that New Delhi had with both the warning nations. There is a growing international recognition of New Delhi’s role as a peace advocate in the region. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s visit to India last week — the first since the Russian invasion of his country two years ago — was loaded with significance. His trip came close on the heels of a long telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month. On the same day, Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, signifying the strengthening of Indo-Russia ties since New Delhi began buying Russian goods that the West had spurned after the Ukraine war began. India can be a potential mediator due to its stand of not blaming any side and consistently insisting on dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward to resolve the conflict. It has refused to be caught in a binary choice. Of immediate interest to Kyiv is ensuring high-level Indian participation in the peace summit to be organised by Switzerland. Though the proposed peace meeting is faced with many obstacles, it can be a good starting point to find a lasting solution and end the war. For India, the Ukraine war has been posing a daunting diplomatic challenge as it needs to take a nuanced position to protect its national interests without succumbing to the pressures of the West.

New Delhi is acutely aware of the continuing need to have Russia as an all-weather friend despite its own growing strategic affinity with the United States. So far, India has been consistently rooting for a negotiated settlement of all disputes and immediate cessation of hostilities. It took a pragmatic approach throughout the conflict, purely guided by national interests. Overcoming the pressures from the Western nations, India continues to buy oil from Russia. And, the S-400 missile defence system supplies have continued. The Russian equipment, especially missile and nuclear technologies, forms the bedrock of India’s defence while the economic partnership with the West, particularly the United States, and its support against an increasingly belligerent China, are key to India’s future. Russia has been hit hard by Western sanctions over the war and relying on continued trade with India and China, including sales of oil and natural gas. The biggest limitation of the proposed peace meeting is that it excludes Russia. Zelenskyy’s peace plan, which makes it incumbent upon Russia to vacate all captured territory, will be unacceptable to Moscow. There is still no indication of whether other Global South majors will attend the summit. However, India’s participation seems certain and this should serve as a promising starting point to draw the curtain on the protracted war.