India and Ukraine talk war and peace; summit in Switzerland on table as well

Committing to participation — and specifying the level in the government’s hierarchy — is tricky under these circumstances. But New Delhi has conveyed the message that it is willing and ready to participate in the Swiss summit at an “appropriate level”, The Indian Express has learned.

After meeting Jaishankar, Kuleba said, “In New Delhi, I had sincere and comprehensive talks with Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about Ukrainian-Indian bilateral relations, the situation in our regions, and global security. We paid specific attention to the Peace Formula and next steps on the path of its implementation.”

He had said Thursday that he would build on “the dialogue between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

“An open and wide-ranging conversation with Ukraine FM @DmytroKuleba this afternoon,” Jaishankar said Friday. “Our discussions focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications. Exchanged views on various initiatives in that context. Spoke as well on global and regional issues of interest to both of us.”

Earlier, Zelenskyy had sought India’s support on his 10-point “peace formula”, which calls for withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, release of prisoners, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and guarantees on nuclear safety, food and energy security.

Since February 24, 2022 when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, India has sent 15 consignments of humanitarian assistance which include medicine, medical equipment, blankets, tents, tarpaulin, solar lamps, dignity kits, sleeping mats, and diesel generator sets. The Indian government has also provided financial assistance for the reconstruction of a school in Kyiv. Funds have also been provided for training of teachers from three schools in Kyiv to support the psychological health of Ukrainian children and youth.

Yet, India has sought to maintain a diplomatic balancing act between Russia and Ukraine. While India has not explicitly condemned the Russian invasion, it called for an international probe into the Bucha massacre and expressed concern over nuclear threats issued by Russian leaders.

At the UN Security Council, India has taken a nuanced position and abstained from voting against Russia in several resolutions. Modi had told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 that “this is not the era of war” — a formulation that found echo in the G20 summit statement in Bali in Nov 2022.

During Friday’s meeting, Kuleba and Jaishankar also agreed to restore their bilateral cooperation. “We also co-chaired the Ukrainian-Indian intergovernmental commission review meeting and agreed to restore the level of cooperation between our countries that existed prior to the full-scale war launched by Russia, as well as identify new promising projects to take our relations to the next level,” the Ukrainian Foreign minister said.

Jaishankar, on his part, reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to strengthen the overall relationship, including bilateral cooperation.

“Our immediate goal is to get trade back to earlier levels. Perspectives on trade, health, S&T and agriculture cooperation shared today were useful,” he said adding that both sides agreed to prepare for the 7th IGC (Intergovernmental Commission) meeting later this year.

Bilateral trade between the two countries had grown significantly in the last 25 years, reaching US $3.386 billion in 2021-22, but it has suffered a setback in the last two years of war.

Kuleba’s visit after two years of war also illustrates the evolution in the Ukrainian position towards Delhi. In August 2022, when India was buying Russian oil at discounted prices, Kuleba had famously said: “Every barrel of Russian crude that India gets, has a good portion of Ukrainian blood in it.” India had defended its decision saying that it was trying to cushion the inflationary impact of the energy prices on the Indian economy and its citizens.

Modi has spoken to Putin and Zelenskyy in the past — with the Russian President, he has had at least five phone calls and with the Ukraine President there have been at least four phone calls since the Russian invasion. He has also met both leaders in-person on the sidelines of multilateral summits.

Most recently, Modi held separate conversations with Putin and Zelenskyy on March 20 and had underlined that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward towards a resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Modi also called Putin to congratulate him for winning a fifth term in office in the recent elections, and followed it up with a phone call to Zelenskyy to convey India’s “consistent support” for all peace efforts.

During the telephone conversation, the Ukrainian President had thanked India for its support for his country’s sovereignty and said that it would be important for Kyiv to see New Delhi attend the summit in Switzerland.

Kuleba, who arrived in New Delhi Thursday, paid tribute at Rajghat. In a video posted on March 25 prior to the India visit, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stood in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Kyiv and invoked Gandhi and emphasised on the idea of “freedom and independence”. He leaves Saturday.