Ankara and New Delhi are engaging in dialogue for efforts to facilitate peace initiatives between Ukraine and Russia, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, as the war rages on.
“At this time, what is happening is that countries are trying to do what they can in a very difficult situation. Türkiye has been among the most active and most prominent; others, at different points of time, have tried to do something or the other,” Jaishankar said, answering Daily Sabah’s question in New Delhi.
“Last year, when we were in Bali, I remember my colleague Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu mentioning to me that they were still working on the grain corridor and that they were having some issues with the Russians,” Jaishankar added, saying that he then spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“If we can be of use to anybody, we will be happy. Right now, we do not see a window of opportunity for any overall initiative. People are working on the details of the problem rather than the entire problem,” he added.
Saying that he had not yet met new Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, he continued, “But with Mevlüt, he and I used to talk often and had good relations.”
While the West has been concentrating on sanctioning and alienating Russia in the face of its invasion of Ukraine, actors such as India and Türkiye have come to the fore as possible mediators for the conflict, continuing their dialogue with the warring parties.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered one of Europe's biggest wars since 1945 almost 18 months ago, the global economy as well as peace has been endangered, especially affecting the Global South.
Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. The country's delicately balanced act of assuming a mediator role by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis.
In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul last year. Türkiye also hosted the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Antalya the same year and is currently trying to revive a grain corridor deal forged to ensure global food security. Russia walked out of the deal, citing that clauses concerning Moscow were not catered to with only Kyiv drawing benefits.
New Delhi similarly stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue on ending the war and has expressed its will to contribute to peace efforts.
“We have strong relations with Ukraine, and it manifests in a variety of ways including economical, technical, military and food security,” Jaishankar reiterated, saying that, however, the G-20 should not be a platform to discuss the war.
Meanwhile, Putin will not travel to India for the G-20 summit early next month, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week.
Travel is currently not on the president's agenda, Peskov explained. He said Putin is concentrating on the special military operation, which is the Kremlin's preferred term for Russia's war against Ukraine.
In what form Putin will take part remotely in the G-20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9-10 is still being worked out.
