Opinion Express View on Modi’s communication with Putin and Zelenskyy: Calling Moscow and Kyiv

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for an early end to the war in Ukraine, in his phone calls on Wednesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, comes amid the military stalemate on the ground and a gathering political sentiment in favour of a negotiated settlement. It is perhaps premature to talk of a major Indian role in ending the brutal war in the heart of Europe. The earlier initiatives by Turkey and China to promote a ceasefire and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv had fizzled out. But the conditions for productive peace talks might have improved amidst the Republican Party’s refusal in the US to support new military assistance to Ukraine and the growing prospects of Donald Trump winning the White House in the November elections. Modi’s phone calls also come weeks before a major peace conference on Ukraine that Switzerland is organising in the coming weeks.

The Indian diplomatic initiative comes amid an important shift in international perceptions of India’s role in Ukraine. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2024, India has received many brickbats in the West for its refusal to criticise the Russian aggression formally. Delhi’s presumed political tilt towards Russia in the Ukraine war was magnified by the surge in India’s oil purchases from Moscow. The US and Europe sought to inflict economic pain on Moscow by imposing sanctions on its energy trade. Despite sharp media criticism of India, sensible elements in the West saw Delhi’s close ties with Moscow as a potential political asset in promoting peace. Recent Western media reports have lauded Modi’s role in 2022 in preventing nuclear escalation in Ukraine, as Putin threatened to use atomic weapons if the West directly intervened in favour of Kyiv. Being Putin’s best friend is not enough of a qualification to be a peacemaker in Ukraine. Over the last year, Delhi has stepped up its contact with the Ukrainian leadership and sought to dispel the notion that it was taking Russia’s side in the war. PM Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval have been in regular touch with their Ukrainian counterparts. In a reflection of this balanced approach, India is expected to host the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, in Delhi next week. This will be the first time that Delhi is receiving Ukraine’s top diplomat.

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PM Modi, who is basking in the balmy sun of a successful diplomatic run over the last decade, is seizing the diplomatic possibilities in Ukraine, slim though they might be. India’s growing salience on the world stage is matched by Modi’s high personal prestige among world leaders. This allows the PM considerable room to explore a potential peace-making role in Europe. Even a modest Indian contribution will be most welcome in a war-weary Europe. It would also boost Modi’s domestic image as an influential world leader in his quest for a third term as India’s PM. Both the PM and the nation have everything to gain from Delhi’s bold diplomatic moves on Ukraine.