In his third term, PM Modi has visited Europe twice and is among the few world leaders who has held talks with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After Putin, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni has also shown faith in India’s ability to resolve the stalemate.
India enjoys a unique advantage — neither is it part of NATO, nor does it have any ulterior motive except restoring peace in Europe. This makes the country a comfortable player with whom everyone is ready to talk. PM Modi is also a world leader who has personally invested in the effort to end the conflict. He spoke to both US President Joe Biden and Putin after returning from Kyiv. Later, he sent National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to personally brief Putin on his Kyiv visit.
While India does not have a peace formula yet, foreign secretary Vikram Misri, during a briefing in New Delhi ahead of PM Modi’s US visit, said India is involved in a set of conversations with several important partners and leaders.
Till now, India’s position on the conflict has been that this is not an era of war, solutions cannot be found on the battlefield, and there can be no peace talks without all stakeholders.
This is the first time the prime minister is travelling to America in his third term, equipped with a better understanding of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. When he meets QUAD leaders in Delaware, the war is likely to be discussed. It is expected that PM Modi can share the viewpoints of both Russia and Ukraine apart from other countries in Europe and stress on the contribution India has made in the ongoing peace efforts.
Many experts believe that this time, the language of the paragraph on the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the QUAD’s joint statement could change to reflect the views of all members, including PM Modi’s assertion on the effect of the war on the Global South.
On September 21, PM Modi will meet Biden and, exactly a month later, he is likely to meet Putin on the sidelines of BRICS in Kazan following a proposal by the Russian President for a meeting.
PM Modi will also address world leaders at the Summit of the Future in United Nations during his visit. The theme of the summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’ and the prime minister, in his key address, could talk about his visits to Russia and Ukraine and give a message of peace to the world.
PM Modi had faced criticism from Western geo-political experts for visiting Moscow and hugging Putin. However, he silenced his detractors when he not only visited Ukraine but also contributed to peace talks — making the world sit up and take notice of India’s efforts to bring peace to Europe.
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