Modi's visit to Ukraine was more of a balancing act than a peace effort - The Hindu
Kyiv • UNN
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Kyiv and meets with President Zelenskyy. The visit is seen as an attempt to balance India's position on the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Six weeks after his visit to Moscow, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Kyiv and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday “was largely perceived as an exercise in balancing India's position on the Russia-Ukraine war,” writes India's leading daily The Hindu in an editorial, reports UNN.
Details
“Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India has maintained a uniquely distanced position from the war, abstaining from all UN resolutions that have addressed the conflict and criticized Russia. India has also ignored Western sanctions, particularly on payments for oil imports and defense equipment from Russia, and did not accept Mr. Zelenskyy's request to include Ukraine in the G20 summit last year or to send a high-level political representative to the Swiss Peace Summit in June. India's disapproval of Russia's actions was instead couched in the language of peace, which was little consolation for Ukraine, which had sought a clear commitment to its cause and had been deeply critical of Mr. Modi's visit to Moscow. The fact that Mr. Modi made the visit at all, the first by any Indian prime minister since Ukraine's independence in 1991, is significant and is being watched for signals of any major change in India's policy on the war,” the article says.
The publication points out that the leaders signed a number of agreements and talked about the war.
At the same time, as the newspaper notes, “the broader question surrounding the visit was whether India would now play a greater role in resolving the conflict, which includes the idea proposed by Kyiv for another summit in November.” “Mr. Modi has also become one of the few world leaders from Indonesia, Turkey, South Africa and Hungary who have visited Kyiv and Moscow, and thus have the opportunity to approach both with peace initiatives. As the leader of the Global South, India has an interest in ensuring that the consequences of the war in Europe and sanctions do not continue to threaten developing and underdeveloped countries. However, New Delhi has so far shown little interest in doing more than passing along messages when necessary, sending officials to Doha and Burgenstock when invited to participate in peace dialogues, and encouraging the two sides to talk directly to each other. Unless the perception of India's interests changes, it appears that Modi's visit was a formality, but did not fundamentally move the needle in global peace efforts. The content also did not outweigh the symbolism of the long-awaited visit,” the newspaper notes.
