India Proposes Black Sea Plan in Ukraine Peace Talks
India has been engaging both Russia and Ukraine in diplomatic efforts to promote peace, with the external affairs ministry saying on Wednesday that India's initiative has been appreciated by both sides. The statement came days after Ukraine said India had submitted one of four ceasefire proposals under consideration, describing the Indian proposal as the "broadest" among them.
According to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, India is in talks with Moscow and Kyiv on issues including safe shipping in the Black Sea, grain and energy exports, and possible non-attack arrangements. "We have ongoing conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard," Jaiswal said. The ministry reiterated India's position that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward and that solutions to the conflict would not emerge from the battlefield. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the time had come for "endless war to give way to end of war."
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India had moved in recent months from merely advocating dialogue to becoming more directly involved in conversations with both sides. Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that ceasefire proposals had been received from India, Turkey, Egypt, and the United States.
