Photo credit: Narendra Modi’s X Network
image captionNarendra Modi and Volodymyr Zelenskyi talked about peace, but they seem to see different ways of achieving it
August 23, 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared his support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and called for a diplomatic dialogue between Ukraine and Russia to end the war as soon as possible. However, the head of the Indian government, as before, avoids condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The Indian leader was repeatedly criticized for the fact that his country maintained neutrality throughout the years of the war, but Narendra Modi assured in Kyiv: “We have never been neutral and from the very first day we stood on the side of peace.”
At the same time, India is the largest the buyer of Russian oil and replenishes the budget of the Russian Federation.
A month and a half ago, during a visit to Moscow, Modi called Vladimir Putin a friend, today he addressed Volodymyr Zelensky with these words.
This visit on the eve of the Independence Day of Ukraine is called historic both in Kyiv and in New Delhi, primarily because no prime minister of this country has visited Ukraine in the 33 years of independence. Only the presidents of the two countries exchanged visits. In India, the real leader of the country is the head of the government.
But did the same historical agreements become during the negotiations?
After arriving in Kyiv, Modi said he plans to share the prospects for a “peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”
On the eve of the visit, there were also speculations that Modi might bring Zelensky some messages from Putin, because he was in Moscow on July 8-9. However, there was no information about it.
Modi’s path from Poland to Kyiv
The Indian media vividly described how the prime minister took 10 hours to get to Kyiv from Warsaw on a train converted for the safe transportation of VIPs. In Poland, Modi managed to talk with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The visit to Poland is also called historic, because no Indian prime minister has visited this country, as well as Ukraine, for more than 30 years.
Photo caption Narendra Modi and Donald Tusk in Warsaw
After the negotiations, Donald Tusk expressed confidence that the role of Narendra Modi as the leader of the Global South, which unites more than 100 countries, will be decisive in achieving peace in Ukraine.
The premiere was told about the victims of the war
This time, the distinguished Alex Reed was not taken to Bucha or Borodyanka, as usually happened during the visits of the leaders of many states.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his first meeting with Modi near the “Children” multimedia complex, created in memory of the children who died as a result of the Russian aggression.
Here, the prime minister was also told about the consequences of the shelling of the “Okhmatdit” children’s clinic, which Russia attacked just when the Indian prime minister was holding talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow at the beginning of July.
Photo credit: Narendra Modi’s X Network
Photo caption Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Narendra Modi at the “Children” memorial
In memory of the dead, Narendra Modi left a toy.
“The death of innocent children is very painful. For the civilized world, for all those people who believe in human values. For all people who are sensitive to human values, such events are absolutely unacceptable,” he emphasized during the talks with Volodymyr Zelensky.
In July, the Indian Prime Minister spoke the same words to Russian President Putin when it became known about the destruction of the Okhmatdit clinic.
Modi: the only way is dialogue
“Two years ago in Samarkand, when I met with President Putin, I told him, looking him in the eye, in front of the press, that this is not the era of war. And last month, I told him very clearly that the problems cannot be solved on the field The only way to overcome the problems is dialogue and diplomacy,” Narendra Modi emphasized during the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Without wasting time, we must move in this direction. Both sides will have to sit down together and find ways out of this crisis. I would very much like to play a role in a peaceful settlement,” these statements are probably the key message of the Indian Prime Minister’s visit .
On the eve of the visit, there were speculations that Modi might bring Zelensky some messages from Putin. However, there was no public information about this, as well as the details of the proposals for a peaceful settlement, which were announced by the prime minister himself.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s response to this was a call to join the final document that was adopted at the peace summit in Switzerland.
India took part in this forum, but did not sign the joint communique, which is harshly criticized by Russia.
Photo by AFP
image captionNarendra Modi and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, July 2024. The Indian leader urged the head of the Kremlin not to follow the path of war
Instead, the joint statement of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Narendra Modi following the negotiations contains many intentions for cooperation in various sectors of the economy: agriculture, pharmacy, technologies, as well as in the field of science and culture.
Cooperation in the field of defense, in particular, “partnership in the field of production in India”, as well as the intention to hold a meeting of a bilateral working group on military-technical cooperation in this country in the near future, is highlighted as a separate item.
Ukraine and India’s geopolitical ambitions
Seeking opportunities for dialogue is what Narendra Modi has been talking about for more than one year in a row.
Analysts emphasize that under conditions of economic dependence on Russia, India will continue to try to maintain a balance in relations with the Russian Federation on the one hand and the West on the other. And the issue here is not only the desire for peace in Ukraine, but also the geopolitical ambitions of this South Asian country.
“While India has historically warm ties with Russia, it also seeks a closer security partnership with Western countries as a bulwark against its regional rival, China,” – emphasizes the British edition of The Guardian.
The National Institute of Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine also draws attention to this.
“So far, the West does not see significant threats from the Indian-Russian partnership and considers it as a logical component of containing the Russian-Chinese relations, which are getting stronger and stronger, which worries Washington as much as New Delhi,” the institute’s analytical study says.
“The issue of Ukraine is not a priority on such an agenda, and there is no meaningful content in the calls for peace yet,” NISD emphasizes.
