THE BRIDGE

 

AS THE United States and Russia watched with keen interest Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine, India managed a skillful rebalancing act by yet again de-hyphenating its engagements on its own terms. Mr. Modi’s meeting with President of Ukraine Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has once again put India in a position to act as a bridge between Kyiv and Moscow and seek an end to the long-stretched conflict which has put vital interests of the entire world in peril. Within six weeks of his much-talked about visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, the Indian Prime Minister has managed to strike a fantastic balance in international relations which has remained a highlight of New Delhi’s foreign policy in the last one decade. Mr. Modi’s visit to Ukraine is a message to the world that India would always be ready to engage with every player for the sake of a rules-based global order with peace as its core guiding principle. India has also assuaged many fears stoked by disinformation about Mr. Modi’s visit to Moscow and also calmed some frayed nerves in Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russian military campaign in Ukraine, Kyiv has been seeking Mr. Modi’s indulgence in finding a way out of the conflict. India, too, has been calling for negotiations and dialogue as the way forward to end hostilities.

 

As its steadfast position on international conflagrations, New Delhi has remained neutral and the two visits to Moscow and Kyiv underline the Indian position that it would act as a bridge to peace rather than taking sides despite strong bilateral and trade relations with the countries involved in the conflict. Mr. Modi’s talks with Mr. Putin and now with Mr. Zelenskyy have made it clear that India is not bound by the “veto” imposed by Western nations nor it would get bogged down by the historic, strategic ties with Russia. It is the same policy effectively employed by Mr. Modi during his separate visits to Israel and Palestine in 2018. That was a bold and calculated policy showing that rather than treating the two entities as one complicated unit, India would pursue a separate relationship with each party.

 

The visit to Kyiv has come on the same lines as Mr. Modi has sent a signal to Moscow that New Delhi has its own view of the conflict and its own interests to safeguard. The carefully planned visits to Poland and then to Ukraine in a 10-hour train journey from Warsaw have emphatically decked Mr. Modi’s image as a senior statesman having a grip on international affairs. He is the only leader in the world who had directly told Mr. Putin in one-on-one talks that “it is not an era of war”. Those words resonated in the world as a powerful message from a country that always believed in a peaceful society. In Kyiv, too, the Prime Minister reassured Ukraine that India would help in every possible way to bring peace in the region. This consistent approach has made the international community see Mr. Modi as someone who has the ability to break the ice and bring Russia and Ukraine back to the negotiations table. The Indian Prime Minister is one of the very few world leaders to have visited both Moscow and Kyiv. It gives him the leverage to reach out to both with peace proposals. India must now play a key role in making the peace summit proposed in November a visible success.