India pushing for bigger role in Russia-Ukraine talks

India is pushing for a larger role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict resolution talks, according to Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Foreign Minister stated that India has been advocating for a dialogue and diplomacy approach to end the war, which has been going on for four and a half years now. Jaishankar made this remark at the Munich Security Conference in New Delhi.

He mentioned that India is not just advocating but also starting to engage with both Russia and Ukraine, discussing issues like the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, grain and energy exports, and even the possibility of a non-attack scenario. These conversations are ongoing.

In September, Jaishankar made his first solo trip to Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have a close relationship, having met in New Delhi in September. Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that the United States is aiming to broker a new round of talks between Ukraine and Russia by the end of October to end the conflict.

However, US-led peace efforts have been slow due to Washington's focus on its conflict with Iran and Russia increasing its aerial attacks in Ukraine. Despite this, previous rounds of talks have not led to any significant progress towards peace, as Russia insists on its maximalist conditions to end the fighting.