PM Narendra Modi is Highly Respected around the World, his efforts for return of peace should be held in high esteem: Ukraine Envoy to India

By R Anil Kumar

New Delhi, September 10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is highly respected around the world, his efforts for return of peace should be held in high esteem said Ukraine’s Ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, has also hoped that India will participate at a “very senior level” in the next “Peace Summit” and said his country will be very happy if Prime Minister Narendra Modi finds the time to attend it, as his voice “is very much respected in the world”.

Polishchuk also said that PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine in August was “historical” and there was “concrete discussion” on “how we are going to achieve stable peace” find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He said that India had not signed the final communique after the Peace Summit in Switzerland.

“I hope that my President, in his discussion with the Prime Minister, Modi convinced him to play a more major role as a leading nation in such peace negotiations. Unfortunately, we haven’t India on the list of countries who signed the final communique after the summit in Switzerland, but there’s still an open opportunity to join in some way,” Polishchuk said.

“It’s again about the main principles like the nuclear security, food security, which are quite important for this region. At the next summit, we hope India will participate at a very senior level. We would be very happy if the Prime Minister finds the time to travel for this Summit and personally take part in a discussion because his voice is very much respected in the world,” Polishchuk added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to the country on August 23 and reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace in Russia-Ukraine conflict.

PM Modi reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace.

Secretary (West) Pavan Kapoor represented India at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, hosted by Switzerland, on June 15,16 this year.

The Indian delegation attended the Opening and Closing Plenary Sessions of the Summit. India did not associate itself with any communique or document emerging from this Summit.

“India’s participation in the Summit, as well as in the preceding NSA/Political Director-level meetings based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, was in line with our consistent approach to facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said in a release.

“We continue to believe that such a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict. In this regard, India will continue to remain engaged with all stakeholders as well as both the parties to contribute to all earnest efforts to bring about an early and abiding peace,” the release added.

Asked about NSA Ajit Doval’s visit to Russia for a meeting of senior security officials of BRICS member states, Polishchuk said it is absolutely logical that NSA Doval will travel to the country “with whom we need to talk in terms of preparation for the next peace summit”.

“The meeting between two leaders should have some practical implication. I mean on a peace discussion. We are quite happy that before this meeting, India demonstrated their leading role and took place in all of the meetings on the level of the NSA, which actually has been the preparatory stage for the Peace Summit, which we held together in Switzerland this year,” he said.

“It is absolutely logical that NSA (Doval) will travel to the country with whom we need to talk in terms of preparation for the next peace summit. Russia rejected the invitation for the summit, so we should put our common effort to convince them that they need to participate in the summit,” he added.

The Ukraine Ambassador also emphasised India’s role in global affairs.

“We have the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and I know India is present during the peace negotiation. So, with that we will be very much happy if India will play a more active role in the moderating of the discussion, in the moderating of peace negotiation, because India has very good relationship with both countries, so taking into account that we expect, that India should have the strong position and a more clear plan for the peacebuilding process in Ukraine and in another area around the world,” he said.

A joint statement issued after PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine said that he and President Zelenskyy reiterated their readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. They agreed on the desirability of closer bilateral dialogue in this regard.

The Indian side reiterated its principled position and focus on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy, as a part of which, India has attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024.

The Ukrainian side welcomed such participation by India and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian participation in the next Peace Summit.

The Ukrainian side conveyed that the Joint Communique on a Peace Framework, adopted at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, could serve as a basis for further efforts to promote just peace based on dialogue, diplomacy, and international law.

The Leaders appreciated various efforts to ensure global food security, including Ukrainian humanitarian grain initiative. The importance of uninterrupted and unhindered supply of agricultural products to global markets, especially in Asia and Africa, was emphasized.