Doval to Step up Modi’s Initiative for Russia – Ukraine Peace

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 8: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will be travelling to Moscow this week to hold discussions to boost up the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives to broker peace between the two warring nations Russia and Ukraine raging for over last two and half years.

Mr Doval’s visit slated for September 10-11 comes after Mr Modi visited both Russia and Ukraine in the past two months and met its leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. It will mark the beginning of India’s stepped up efforts to mediate a peaceful resolution to the deadly conflict, According to top government sources, the European Union has expressed a desire for India to play a prominent role in the peace process.

In Moscow, Mr Doval will attend the BRICS NSA meeting and hold crucial talks on ending the conflict. During the BRICS NSA-level talks, Doval will represent India and is also expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Russia has recently expressed its desire for India to play an important role in ending the war, while Mr Modi conveyed his desire to President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in July.

Shortly after his trip to Ukraine and his meeting with President Zelensky, Mr Modi had spoken to President Putin over the phone on August 27. A Russian Embassy statement said during the phone call, Prime Minister Modi informed President Putin about his visit to Kiev and stressed India’s commitment to bring about a settlement for Ukraine by political and diplomatic means.

According to sources, it was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks. No details regarding the schedule of this visit are currently available. “Vladimir Putin shared his principled assessment of the destructive policies of the Kiev authorities and their Western patrons, and went on to highlight Russia’s approaches to resolving this conflict,” the Russian Embassy said about the phone call.

The Prime Minister’s Office had said the two leaders exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “The PM shared insights from his recent visit to Ukraine. He underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to achieve an abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict,” a PMO release said.

The Prime Minister reiterated India’s firm commitment to support an “early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict” on his official handle on X. Mr Modi was in Ukraine last month and met president Zelensky and had discussed with him Russia – Ukraine conflict. After the meeting Mr Modi had said, “India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace.” The Russia-Ukraine conflict has sharply divided the world and most global powers have taken sides. New Delhi, however, has constantly called for peace, with Prime Minister Modi stressing that “this is not an era of war.”

President Putin has named India among the three countries Russia is in touch with over the Ukraine conflict. “We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India. I constantly keep in touch with our colleagues on this issue,” Putin said.

Other world leaders, too, are of the view that India can play a key role in finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday held talks with Ukraine President Zelensky. “China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict. What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate,” she said, according to reports in Italian media.

Despite India’s deep strategic interests in Russia, particularly in terms of buying oil and weapons, the government is not keen on being a direct mediator. But PM Modi’s Italian counterpart PM Giorgia Meloni and Putin have both urged him to work towards a peaceful resolution. According to government sources, Doval is going to Moscow with a special message, signifying India’s growing role as a mediator in ending the war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Russia-Ukraine negotiations that took place in Istanbul in the early weeks of the war failed to make any headway, and the situation on the ground remains bleak, with both sides escalating their rhetoric and opening new fronts. As India takes on a key role in the peace process, the world will be watching closely to see if Doval’s talks in Moscow can pave the way for a lasting peace.

Ukraine’s Government is keen for New Delhi to sign on to the Swiss Peace Summit document, which would entail reversing India’s previous decision to disassociate from it. Ukraine’s Ambassador to India Oleksandr Polishchuk has said President Zelensky had proposed a retrospective move by India to join the peace process ahead of plans for a second Peace Summit in October or November this year, and that Ukraine had more “ambition” than for India to play “post office” between the leaders.