Dr. Jai Narayan Vyas Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev against the backdrop of the Ukrainian army's advance into Russia's Kursk region. This was the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since Ukraine's independence in 1991. Modi reiterated the need to move towards peace through dialogue. Yet India's close ties with Russia undermine its call for peace. India overtook China to become the world's largest importer of Russian oil last month as Western countries imposed several sanctions on Russia. Russia is a major arms supplier to India. The two countries have a long history of friendly relations. Modi has also refrained from outright condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Modi chose Russia for his first official visit of his third term. During a two-day visit, he embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Zelensky described as a major disappointment and a blow to peace efforts. Ukraine is to host another international peace summit later this year. Russia was excluded from the first summit held in Switzerland in June. India attended but did not sign the resolution endorsing Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling for talks between all parties to find a lasting solution to the conflict. Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that there is no question of holding peace talks due to Ukraine's intrusion into Russian territory. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, also said there would be no talks until Ukraine lost. Zelensky, on the other hand, has said that he wants the war to end on his own terms, not Russia's. Thus, Modi's visit to Ukraine does not seem to play any role in advancing the peace talks between the two countries as both the parties stand firm on their stand. NATO is at the heart of the war between Russia and Ukraine. NATO countries affirm that Ukraine's future lies in NATO but the decision on Ukraine's membership is repeatedly postponed. The Washington Summit Declaration stated that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO when all allies agree and conditions are met. Allies are still not convinced. Ukraine's NATO membership is supported by the Baltic and Nordic countries, as well as some European member states such as Poland, while the U.N. S. And major countries like Germany are in opposition. The argument against Ukraine's NATO membership is that any move that Russia sees as a threat to its security could escalate the conflict. This argument does not seem to hold, as Russia has tacitly accepted two of its neighbors, Finland and Sweden, which have applied to join NATO in 2022. So the claim that NATO approaching its border is a trigger point for Russia is a lie. Analysts believe that Russia has a clear intention to destroy Ukraine as a nation by focusing the world's attention on its concerns about NATO expansion. Russia is absolutely determined to destroy Ukraine and needs no additional motivation to do so. Second, there is the fact that Russia has not attacked a single member of NATO. Instead, it threatened, invaded and occupied non-member countries: such as Georgia, Moldova and now Ukraine. Russia has tread cautiously, considering the red line the territorial boundary between NATO and non-NATO countries. Therefore, stopping Ukraine's NATO membership does not seem to resolve the war. However, what Ukraine needs now is not NATO membership but a firm commitment from NATO to win the war. Developing Ukraine's military capabilities to counter Russia and regain Russian-held territory requires a long-term strategy, including increasing arms and ammunition. NATO's priority should be to ensure Ukraine's victory over Russia. NATO may then reassess Ukraine's membership. A victorious Ukraine would be in a better position to make a meaningful contribution to the NATO alliance. In addition to military aid to Ukraine, NATO should develop Ukraine's defense industry and help Kiev invest in the production of arms and ammunition, while the issue of NATO membership is looming. Ukraine now manufactures drones, rockets and other munitions. A strong arms industry would not only help Ukraine defend itself, but also contribute to NATO's collective security. Finally, a few points are worth noting. Ukraine has been a supporter of Pakistan on the Kashmir issue since the beginning. Secondly, the normal system is that when a country is involved in a war, the head of the other country does not visit it. Even so, the Indian Prime Minister's first visit to Russia and then to Ukraine is chilling. Russia has been a supporter of India on the Kashmir issue since the beginning and has been instrumental in setting up several public sector entities and higher education institutions such as IIT Mumbai. Zelensky can be counted on to say that if India stops buying oil from Russia, the financial crisis will put pressure on Russia, however, Ukraine has not made any proposal to India to mediate.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
Home-Abroad: India does not see any possibility of Ukraine-Russia mediation
