New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to Moscow to attend the BRICS summit next month, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is attending a key meeting of BRICS NSAs in the Russian capital reportedly carrying a Ukraine peace plan proposed by the PM. He is supposedly going to share it with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting of BRICS and BRICS Plus high-level security officials started on September 10.
On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pointed out that Russia and Ukraine will have to settle their war by negotiating off the battlefield and India is prepared to help the two warring nations.
During his recent visit to Kyiv, PM Modi had told the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that India is willing to play an active part in efforts to restore peace. He had said that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war. The PM has expressed his intention to extend support to end the conflict to Putin as well, saying that “this was not an era of war”. His friendly relationship with both Putin and Zelensky can help India become an active mediator in resolving the conflict.
According to sources, the objective of Doval’s visit to Moscow goes beyond his participation in the meetings of the NSAs of the 10 BRICS countries. He is carrying some message from PM Modi to the NSA of Russia and President Putin.
Jaishankar’s “useful conversation” with Lavrov
Jaishankar has said he had “useful conversation” with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers’ meet in Saudi Arabia. At the Annual Ambassadors’ Conference of the German Foreign Office in Berlin on Wednesday, the foreign minister spoke about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He said that at some juncture, there’s going to be some negotiation between Russia and Ukraine. “We don’t think you’re going to get a solution out of the battlefield. If you want advice, we are always willing to give it,” Jaishankar added.
Putin constantly in touch with India
Russian President Putin has pointed out that India is among the three countries he is regularly in touch with over the Ukraine conflict and said they (China, Brazil and India) are making honest efforts to bring about a solution.
Two weeks after PM Modi’s Ukraine visit, President Putin said that if Ukraine expresses its desire to carry on with the negotiations, Russia can do that. The remark assumes a lot of significance against the backdrop of PM Modi’s proposed Ukraine peace plan.
Interestingly, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was also quoted as saying by the daily Izvestia that India could help in setting up a dialogue on Ukraine.