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Ukraine: India and others abstain from signing the Swiss Peace Summit communique

Ukraine: India and others abstain from signing the Swiss Peace Summit communique

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Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Pushing for a ‘sincere’ engagement between Russia and Ukraine, India and some other countries abstained from signing the joint communique issued at the end of the four-day global peace summit hosted by Switzerland, on Sunday, the media reported.

India did not sign the communique as New Delhi called for a “sincere and practical engagement” between Moscow and Kyiv for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict which began with the Russian invasion of its neighbor on February 24, 2022.

The joint communique was signed by 83 states and organizations. Besides India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa also refrained from signing the peace document.

The key objective of the “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” was to inspire a future peace process. The Indian delegation attended the opening and closing plenary sessions of the Summit.

Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), represented India at the Summit held in the Swiss Alpine resort of Burgenstock, attended by delegates from over 100 countries and organizations, including several Heads of State.

Russia was not invited to the Summit—it called it a “waste of time”– while China decided not to attend it.

India said it did not associate itself with any communique or document emerging from the event, asserting only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace.

New Delhi’s participation in the Summit and several earlier meetings of senior officials based on Ukraine’s peace formula was in line with “our clear and consistent approach that enduring peace can be achieved only through dialogue and diplomacy,” Kapoor said.

“We continue to believe that such a peace requires bringing together all stakeholders and a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict,” he said.

“Accordingly, we will continue to engage with all stakeholders as well as the two parties to the conflict to contribute to all earnest efforts to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine,” Kapoor said.

India’s participation in the Summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is aimed at understanding different perspectives, approaches, and options to find a way forward for a “sustainable resolution of the conflict.”

Kapoor said India deemed it “important to join the gathering that seeks to explore the way forward to a negotiated settlement of a very complex and pressing issue.”

“India shares the global concern over the situation in Ukraine and supports any collective desire to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he said.

In the joint communique, the signatories reaffirmed their commitment to “refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State” and the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognized borders.

A Swiss Foreign Ministry statement said 83 states and organizations approved the joint communique at the end of the “High-Level Conference on Peace in Ukraine.”

“We believe that reaching peace requires involvement of and dialogue between all parties. We, therefore, decided to undertake concrete steps in the future in the above-mentioned areas with further engagement of the representatives of all parties,” the communique said.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on multiple occasions. In September 2022, he also told President Putin that this is “not the era of war.”

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

At the Summit, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy sought support for his 10-point peace plan that he first outlined in 2022.

“The peace formula is inclusive, and we are happy to hear and work on all proposals, all ideas of what is needed for peace and what is important to you dear friends,” Zelenskyy said.

“I urge you to be as active as possible and I am proud all parts of the world, all continents are now represented at the peace summit,” he said.

The Summit was built on the previous discussions that took place based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula and other peace proposals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the Ukrainian President on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy’s Apulia.

PM Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through “dialogue and diplomacy.” He also told President Zelenskyy that India believes in a “human-centric” approach.

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