For Russia-Ukraine peace, India flies under the radar

India needs a peace process to get under way to save the G20 summit in September from ending in discord

India is in pursuit of peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Covertly, as it should be, when positions taken by parties to the conflict are intractable.

Besides, there are several countries outside the zone of conflict — who have nothing to lose but gains to make — who are ready to go to any length to sabotage publicly declared peace efforts. The Pope, Brazil, China, all publicly declared their intention to launch peace initiatives in recent months. Those initiatives were torpedoed even before they could get off the ground.

Need proof of India’s pursuit of peace in Ukraine? Here is what Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said in Paris on Bastille Day. “Russia-Ukraine conflict is a matter which has always been — has mostly been discussed between the two leaders whenever they have spoken,” Kwatra said of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on two successive days. “In today's discussions between the two leaders, what I would say is that there is a very clear understanding and appreciation of each other's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.” Kwatra reiterated the words “very clear appreciation, understanding, and recognition of each other's position on where the conflict is right now and what their perspective on that is.”

There is no way Kwatra could have said this after Modi’s talks in the White House last month. Since the war in Ukraine started 17 months ago, Modi has been to Berlin and Copenhagen, and has met Nordic leaders. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was in New Delhi. After none of their meetings with Modi could Kwatra have said there is “very clear appreciation” of one another’s position on the Ukraine war.

Modi and these European leaders have papered over their differences on Russia. They chose not to hold their bilateral and plurilateral relations hostage to the Ukraine conflict. France is the only Western country among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with whom India can initiate joint peace efforts to end the Ukraine war. This overlapping backdrop of circumstances was on the agenda of talks in Élysée Palace. It was no passing mention. Otherwise, the Foreign Secretary would not have dealt with this subject in detail.

On the very day Modi and Macron met in Paris, India’s second-ranking career diplomat in the Ministry of External Affairs, Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma, was in Kyiv for “consultations” with the Ukrainians. Verma’s visit was not announced in advance, but a Ukrainian lobbyist, who is active in India, let the cat out of the bag. Fortunately, her indiscretion did not gain much traction although it was immediately picked up in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri.

It was no coincidence that the Indian team for meetings in Kyiv reached there on the eve of Modi’s departure for Paris. New Delhi and Paris have been intricately working on the Prime Minister’s Bastille Day engagements for four to six months. Unless there was the possibility of a Modi-Macron peace initiative on the horizon, India would not have chosen to have its second-ranking professional diplomat in Kyiv on the precise days of the Franco-Indian summit.

Indeed, if there was any possibility of discord over Ukraine in the Paris talks — like there would have been if Modi was in London or Berlin — Verma's travel would have been advanced or deferred to avoid unpleasantness.

In Paris, Indian Ambassador Jawed Ashraf closely tracked his colleague’s engagements in Ukraine. India publicised Verma’s trip only after he returned to New Delhi and cloaked his visit with the euphemism of ‘Foreign Office Consultations’. In Kyiv, the Secretary (West) got access that is reserved for visiting ministers, which was a giveaway. Verma met the Chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament and the Chief of Staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Meanwhile, Kwatra had more to say, pregnant with meanings between the lines. “My Prime Minister, Prime Minister Modi, has been the strongest advocate of resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. My Prime Minister is, again, the only leader who has openly said that this is not the era of war. Now, obviously, this points to a certain basic intent of the Prime Minister and of India, which is intent for peace.”

India needs a peace process to get under way to save the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in September from ending in discord. The war may not end in two months. But a peace initiative is one way to ensure an agreed communique at the summit, which has eluded important G20 meetings recently.

(KP Nayar has extensively covered West Asia and reported from Washington as a foreign correspondent for 15 years.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.