The News
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks in Kyiv on Friday, a trip Ukraine’s Western allies hope signals New Delhi shifting its non-aligned stance over Russia’s invasion.
Modi urged Zelenskyy to sit down for talks with Russia, saying that “the road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy.” He said that “both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis,” adding India was prepared to help “as a friend” to bring peace.
Ukraine has yet offered a public response to Modi’s comments.
Modi’s visit is the first by an Indian leader since the two countries established official diplomatic relations in 1992.
SIGNALS
Modi’s visit suggests India is questioning ‘passive bystander’ role
India has been cultivating a stronger relationship with central and eastern Europe over the past decade, and Modi’s visit to Kyiv is emblematic of the push for better relations, Indian Express columnist C. Raja Mohan wrote. For three years, India has avoided taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, instead maintaining strong ties with Moscow. The visit to Ukraine, however, signals that Modi’s government is renegotiating if it can remain a “passive bystander” to the conflict. The “PM’s visit to Poland and Ukraine this week signals that India’s answer is a clear ‘no’,” Mohan wrote.
India’s close ties to Russia make it more influential
A recent visit to Moscow by Modi to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin angered Kyiv. But India’s historically close ties to Russia may put it in a strong position to influence Moscow’s decisions down the road, one adviser to Zelenskyy told Reuters. India — which as of July was Russia’s largest oil importer — “has a certain influence” over Moscow, Mykhailo Podolyak told the outlet. “It’s extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is,” he added.
Modi walking diplomatic ‘tightrope’
India has taken a policy of non-alignment for decades, avoiding taking sides in geopolitical disputes. Modi’s visit to Kyiv isn’t necessarily a move to “placate Western leaders” following rebukes over his trip to Moscow, Vikas Pandey wrote for the BBC. The visit “is more about signaling that while India will continue to have strong relations with Russia, it will still work closely with the West,” he wrote.