India in Touch With Russia, Ukraine to Help End War: S Jaishankar

India has remained in continuous contact with both Russia and Ukraine and is exploring possible ideas that could contribute to reducing tensions and eventually ending the ongoing conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

Jaishankar made the remarks in Warsaw after meeting Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. He had travelled to Poland from Kyiv, where he held talks with senior Ukrainian leaders on Thursday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Sikorski, Jaishankar said the two sides discussed a range of global challenges, including supply chain resilience and food, fuel and fertiliser security. The Ukraine conflict was also a key part of their discussions.

“The Deputy Prime Minister and I also understandably discussed some major global and regional issues, notable among them is the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year... I myself have just come here from Kyiv,” Jaishankar said.

Responding to a question on India's role in efforts to resolve the conflict, he said New Delhi had maintained communication with both Moscow and Kyiv.

India, he said, was examining whether ideas and suggestions could be developed that might contribute to mitigating the conflict and, ideally, bringing the war to an end.

A day earlier, during his visit to Ukraine, Jaishankar had said India was prepared to provide “any help in any manner” that could contribute to ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

In Kyiv, he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Following his meeting with Jaishankar, Zelenskyy thanked India for its stated commitment to ending the conflict.

Zelenskyy said peace was necessary and noted that ending the war was India's clear position. He also expressed hope that other major global powers would adopt a similar position and work towards establishing lasting peace.

Jaishankar Calls for Dialogue and Diplomacy

Reiterating India's position in Warsaw, Jaishankar said the international community should work towards ending wars rather than allowing them to continue indefinitely.

He described the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a “war without winners”, warning that every additional day brings further deaths, destruction and losses for the parties involved while also increasing the economic and other costs for the wider world.

Jaishankar referred to concerns recently expressed publicly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said efforts should focus on dialogue and diplomacy.

“Each of us must do what we can in whichever way we believe could be most effective and support the efforts of others to bring this conflict to an end,” he said, adding that this remained India's “strong conviction”.

Russian Oil Purchases Not the Cause of War: Jaishankar

On India's continued purchase of Russian oil, Jaishankar argued that trade should not be viewed as the means to resolve the conflict.

He said the war would not end because countries decided whether or not to purchase oil, alumina, fertilisers, metals or minerals.

According to Jaishankar, the conflict can only be resolved through diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations.

“The solution lies in negotiations, not in trade,” he said, stressing the need to properly identify the root of the conflict and focus on diplomatic efforts to end it.

with inputs from PTI