India Steps Up Russia-Ukraine Peace Push

New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday said India was discussing Black Sea shipping safety, grain and energy exports and “non-attack possibilities” with Russia and Ukraine as part of its efforts to help end the war.

His remarks came a day after Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha described India’s proposal for a possible ceasefire as the “broadest” of four offers received by Kyiv, according to media reports.

The other proposals came from Turkiye, Egypt and the United States.

Speaking at the Munich Leaders’ Meeting, organised by the Munich Security Conference in New Delhi, Jaishankar said India had stepped up its involvement in efforts to resolve the conflict.

“We have been advocating it for many years, and in recent months we have got a little bit more involved beyond advocacy. We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard,” he said.

“We are trying to be helpful, starting with the Black Sea safety of shipping issue, but going beyond that to cover some immediate concerns which both of them have on grain exports, energy exports, non-attack possibilities.

Those are ongoing conversations right now.”

The minister reiterated that India wanted an end to the conflict through dialogue, diplomacy and negotiations.

“Our position on that conflict has been very clear, which is that we would like to see an end to this conflict.

This will require dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

Sybiha had said on Saturday that Ukraine was ready to consider a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure and the Black Sea.

Any agreement, he said, should address not only combat operations but also attacks on energy facilities and port infrastructure.

“We have four proposals. The broadest one is India’s proposal. We are ready for an energy and Black Sea ceasefire, but only in this combination,” he was quoted as saying.

He called for a complete energy truce, including a halt to attacks on all energy facilities and port infrastructure.

“In general, we believe a truce could be one of the results of a meeting between President Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We are ready for different formats of a truce, including an unconditional one along the line of contact,” Sybiha was quoted as saying.

The diplomatic efforts also drew praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Friday commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s persistent efforts to help end the conflict.

Putin’s remarks came about a month after Modi appealed to him to move from an “endless war” to an “end of war”.

Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club forum in Moscow, Putin said Modi consistently raised the need to end the conflict despite their friendly relations and close personal ties.

“He always raises these issues at every meeting with us.

He is keenly interested, and he has very good ideas aimed at finding mutually acceptable solutions,” Putin said.

“In this sense, the Prime Minister certainly takes a neutral position, but he is interested in ending the conflict.”

During a visit to Kyiv a month ago, Jaishankar had conveyed India’s willingness to assist efforts to secure peace.

After talks with Sybiha, he said that “if India can be of any help in any manner, we are ready”.

The talks took place during his three-day visit to Ukraine and Poland in early September.

The war, which began in February 2022, is now in its fifth year.

It has killed thousands of civilians, displaced millions and caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, besides severely affecting the global economy.