(Kyiv) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected in Kyiv on Friday for a historic trip intended to advance diplomatic efforts toward a “peaceful settlement” of the conflict triggered by Russia two and a half years ago.
Mr Modi, whose country has traditionally enjoyed excellent relations with Moscow, is the first Indian leader to visit Ukraine.
On Thursday, he said from Poland, where he was also on an official visit, that no conflict could ever be “settled on a battlefield.”
“We support dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace and stability as soon as possible. And for this, India is ready to make all possible contributions with its friendly countries,” he said during a press briefing with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk.
PHOTO SERGEI GAPON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Narendra Modi and Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland
Narendra Modi plans to discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky “prospects for peaceful settlement of the ongoing Ukrainian conflict” as well as “deepening friendship between India and Ukraine,” according to a statement released by his office on Wednesday.
India is trying to maintain a delicate balance between Russia, with which it has strong ties, and Western nations, with which it seeks rapprochement to counter regional rival China.
Modi’s visit to Moscow
The Indian prime minister has avoided explicitly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, and India has consistently abstained from voting on UN resolutions that could be hostile to Moscow.
In early July, he went to Moscow just after Russian strikes on several Ukrainian cities killed dozens of people and seriously damaged a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
During the trip, Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin hugged each other, all smiles, before the Russian president presented his guest with a decoration.
The Indian Prime Minister had hailed their “fruitful” discussions, saying that he had taken with Mr Putin “important decisions to strengthen bilateral cooperation” in “trade, security, agriculture, technology”, etc.
President Zelensky, exasperated by the visit, called it a “devastating blow to peace efforts.”
Several other powers, starting with China, have tried, since the beginning of the war, to act as mediators to put an end to this conflict which is upsetting the global geopolitical balance.
Without success, for the moment, as the demands of each side seem irreconcilable.
Difficult mediation
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that a ceasefire and talks are possible only if Kyiv cedes five regions to Russia and renounces its alliance with the West, conditions unacceptable to Ukraine and its allies.
The start of a surprise Ukrainian offensive on Russian soil in the Kursk border region on August 6 has raised even more uncertainty, while Russian troops continue to conquer ground in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv explained that this operation was to serve as a means of pressure with a view to fair negotiations.
But the Kremlin earlier this week insisted that talks were out of the question because of the attack on Russian territory.
Russia is a key supplier of arms and cheap oil to India, although Moscow’s confrontation with the West and its closer ties with China over the Ukraine conflict have impacted its relations with New Delhi.
A member of BRICS alongside Russia and China, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), India is a supporter of a multipolar world and continues to develop its security cooperation with Washington.