New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Reiterating India’s longstanding stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict that a solution will not emerge from the battlefield, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday that New Delhi remains in touch with Moscow and Kyiv to see if there are ideas and suggestions that can contribute to the cessation of the war.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal spoke about External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar’s recent visit to Poland and Ukraine, where he maintained that this is not an era of war and expressed India’s readiness to help in any way to find an end to the conflict.
When asked about a media report claiming that India is brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, Jaiswal said, “External Affairs Minister visited Ukraine and Poland recently. In both these countries, during his conversations, he noted that India has consistently maintained that this is not an era of war and solution will not emerge from the battlefield.
“He also underlined Prime Minister Modi’s comments that endless war must now give way to the end of war. Noting that it is for the parties involved to find a way, he further added that if India can be of any help in any manner to bring the war to an end, it was ready to do so. India is in touch with both the Ukrainian and Russian sides and is trying to see if there are ideas and suggestions that can contribute to the cessation of the conflict,” Jaiswal mentioned.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, India has called for pursuing dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the war. During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand in 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi famously said, “today’s era is not an era of war.”
During his recent visit to Poland, EAM Jaishankar said that India has been maintaining continuous engagement with both Ukraine and Russia, while exploring ideas and suggestions that could help de-escalate the ongoing conflict between the two countries and pave the way for its cessation.
Addressing a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw on September 4, EAM Jaishankar also responded to questions on India’s role in diffusing tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.
“You will appreciate that beyond a point, I can’t go into specifics. What I can tell you is that we’ve been in continuous touch with the Ukrainian side, also with the Russian side. I myself was in Moscow a few days ago. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and President (Vladimir) Putin met in Bishkek three days ago and then I went to Kyiv. So what we had were discussions, fairly detailed discussions with the Russian side. Yesterday, with the Ukrainian side. And, what we are trying to do is to see if, you know, there are ideas and suggestions that can be developed in some way in which they would contribute to the mitigation, ideally the cessation of the conflict,” EAM Jaishankar said.
In Ukraine, EAM Jaishankar recently stated that India stands ready to help in any way to find an end to the longstanding conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The EAM expressed India’s readiness to help during his meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv.
“Just two days ago in Bishkek, Prime Minister Modi declared that endless war must now give way to the end of war. Every passing day of conflict only means more deaths and more destruction. Understandably, it is for the parties involved to find a way. But if India can be of any help, in any manner, we are ready. And this was the core of my discussion today so far with Foreign Minister Sybiha,” EAM Jaishankar said on September 3.
–IANS
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