New Delhi: India has moved beyond advocacy and stepped up its efforts in recent months to resolve the Ukraine conflict by engaging in conversations with both Kyiv and Moscow, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday, in a first public acknowledgement of New Delhi's latest initiative in ending the lingering war.
Jaishankar's comments at an event came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "good ideas" to find a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that Kyiv received separate proposals from India and three other nations for a possible ceasefire.
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Sharing some details of New Delhi's efforts, Jaishankar said it is focusing on ensuring the safety of shipping in the Black Sea as well as on grain exports and energy supplies.
For over four years, India has been consistently pushing for resolving the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
"Our position on that conflict has been very clear, which is that we would like to see an end to this conflict. This will require dialogue and diplomacy. There has to be negotiations in this regard," he said at the Munich Leaders' Meeting in New Delhi.
"We have been advocating it for many years, and in recent months we have got a little bit more involved beyond advocacy. We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard. We are trying to be helpful, starting with the Black Sea safety of shipping issue."
Jaishankar said India is "going beyond that to cover some immediate concerns which both of them (Russia and Ukraine) have on grain exports, energy exports, non-attack possibilities. Those are ongoing conversations right now."
Prime Minister Modi held wide-ranging talks with Russian President Putin in Bishkek on August 31, where he noted that "endless war must now give way to end of war".
The external affairs minister also delved into India's historical ties with Russia.
"India and Russia have historically very good relations, particularly since the 1950s. That history is not forgotten."
He said the Soviet Union "stood by us in many ways when our security, when our territorial integrity was under threat".
"At a time when much of the world preferred backing a military regime next to us, Russia was a country with which our relations were very good, and we are shaped in many ways by that legacy," he said.
Jaishankar said that the engagement has significantly widened now.
"It is very much more today an economic relationship as well. There is a military component, there are nuclear components, there is a space aspect, but there is a significant amount of trade and investment between the two countries and energy and resources as well," he said.
