Ukraine beckons

Last week’s visit to India by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was no customary attempt to keep a bilateral relationship going. This was Kuleba’s maiden trip to the country since hostilities broke out between Ukraine and India’s close strategic partner Russia over two years ago. His tour was green-lighted by PM Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their telephonic conversation last month. Modi, understandably, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin the same day, signifying the strengthening of ties since India began buying Russian goods that the West had spurned after the Ukraine war began.

The strategic proximity between Russia and India suggests that Ukraine’s efforts to open up new vistas of cooperation with New Delhi will be time-consuming, more so because of the upcoming General Election in India. Of immediate interest to Kyiv is ensuring a high-level Indian participation in the peace summit to be organised by Switzerland. India can be a potential mediator due to its stand of not blaming any side and consistently insisting on dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward to resolve the conflict.

The peace meeting, however, is littered with obstacles and contradictions. The most glaring one is the exclusion of Russia, a key protagonist. Zelenskyy’s peace plan, which makes it incumbent upon Russia to vacate all captured territory, will be unacceptable to Moscow. The agenda, however, seems to be evolving as no date has been fixed and the level of representation is undecided. There is no indication on whether other Global South majors will attend the summit. Nevertheless, India’s participation seems to be certain in what could be a promising starting point to draw the curtain on the protracted war.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Russia #Ukraine