With the G20 Presidency and New Delhi’s unique position, why India could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Dec
27:
Since
the
outbreak
of
the
Russia-Ukraine
conflict,
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
has
on
several
occasions
spoken
with
President
Vladimir
Putin
and
President
Volodymyr
Zelensky.

PM
Modi
has
always
reiterated
that
dialogue
and
diplomacy
are
the
only
way
forward
to
resolve
the
conflict.
The
experts
have
always
pointed
out
that
New
Delhi’s
unique
position
as
both
a
friend
of
Russia
as
well
as
the
West
puts
it
in
a
great
position
to
resolve
the
conflict.
While
India
has
reiterated
to
Russia
that
dialogue
is
the
only
way
forward,
it
has
always
supported
the
humanitarian
needs
in
Ukraine.

With
the
energy
crisis
rising,
the
world
would
look
to
India’s
unique
position
to
resolve
the
crisis.
Recognising
the
high
possibility
of
the
same,
Mexico
had
proposed
that
the
United
Nations
set
up
a
committee
comprising
Prime
Minister
Modi,
Pope
Francis
and
UN
Secretary
General
to
mediate
permanent
peace
between
Russia
and
Ukraine.

The
Western
media
initially
was
critical
of
India
reluctance
to
criticise
Russia.
While
India
continued
to
insist
on
dialogue
it
refused
to
endorse
Russian
aggression
and
underlined
the
need
to
respect
the
United
Nations
Charter.
India
has
also
on
several
occasions
warned
against
the
use
of
nuclear
weapons.

US
to
send
critical
Patriot
missile
system
to
Ukraine;
Russia
says
won’t
stand
in
its
way

One
must
also
bear
in
mind
the
diplomatic
contributions
by
India
in
helping
overcome
the
grain
shipment
deal
from
Ukraine
and
also
reducing
the
growing
risks
of
the
war
targeting
the
nuclear
power
station
at
Zaporizhzhia
in
Ukraine.

The
signals
from
both
Russia
and
Ukraine
are
clear
when
it
comes
to
India’s
role
in
ending
the
conflict.
In
Monday’s
talks
President
Zelensky
said
that
in
a
phone
call
with
PM
Modi
he
wished
India
a
successful
presidency
and
it
was
on
this
platform
that
I
announced
the
peace
formula
and
now
I
count
on
India’s
participation
in
its
implementation.
This
was
the
fourth
call
between
the
two
leaders
since
the
outbreak
of
the
conflict,
during
which
PM
Modi
strongly
reiterated
his
call
for
an
immediate
cessation
of
hostilities
and
added
that
both
sides
should
revert
to
dialogue
and
diplomacy
to
find
a
long
lasting
solution
to
their
differences.
India’s
Prime
Minister
also
offered
India’s
support
for
any
peace
efforts.

Further
it
was
India
approach
to
the
conflict
that
today
is
not
an
era
of
war
that
helped
the
G20
negotiators
finalise
the
draft
communique.
These
words
found
resonance
during
the
negotiations.
The
same
words
were
used
by
PM
Modi
during
a
meeting
with
President
Putin
at
the
Shanghai
Cooperation
Organisation
Summit
in
Uzbekistan
on
September
16.
PM
Modi
had
urged
President
Putin
to
end
the
war.
He
also
highlighted
the
problems
of
food
and
energy
security
being
faced
by
the
developing
nations.

CIA
chief
hails
PM
Modi,
says
his
concerns
on
Russia-Ukraine
war
possibly
averted
global
nuclear
disaster

The
draft
also
said
that
most
G20
members
strongly
condemned
the
war
in
Ukraine
while
stressing
that
it
caused
immense
human
suffering
and
fragilities
in
the
global
economy.

With
India’s
G20
presidency
underway,
all
eyes
would
be
on
New
Delhi
on
how
it
would
take
the
peace
talks
further.
With
both
leaders
dialling
India’s
PM
on
several
occasions
and
given
that
India
enjoys
a
unique
position
in
the
world
arena
today,
the
experts
feel
that
the
chances
of
New
Delhi
playing
a
major
role
in
resolving
the
crisis
is
not
ruled
out.