Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India’s interest in all peaceful endeavors designed to solve the Russia-Ukraine crisis, making it clear that the world is required to evolve from the scene of an endless war to one of permanent peace.
In a joint press conference following their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Modi said India “will remain a champion of peaceful solutions.
“That we need to shift from the mindset of ‘endless war’ to ‘end of war’,” Modi said, “and humanity wants to see it as earliest as possible.
The Prime Minister stressed that India has always believed that conflict resolution has to be done through talks and diplomacy. During their previous meeting, he also talked to Putin about the Ukraine situation, he said.
Modi affirmed India’s commitment to peaceful resolutions to the impasse and that diplomacy is crucial to resolve issues that impact on global stability.
His new comments also underscore his well-known “not an era of war” message he made when he met Putin in 2022. Modi had during the time called for nations to be united in addressing challenges that threatened humanity, with an accent on talks.
India has engaged in talks with Moscow and Kyiv, expressing repeated calls for talks, negotiations and diplomacy, since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out early last year. They have also had talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the matter related to the conflict.
India’s new stance reflects the continuity in the country’s foreign policy, which aims to facilitate dialogue but retain strategic partnership with both Moscow and the western nations. Modi’s demand to shift from “endless war” to “end of war” gives new momentum to India’s sloganeering for a peaceful solution to the standoff.