• Source:JND
HighLights
  1. Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Ukraine, said that India is ready to help end the conflict with Russia, going on for last 4 years.
  2. This is also the first-ever dedicated bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Ukraine.
  3. Putin, meanwhile, hinted that there could be a peace deal, but added that it would only happen if Ukraine stopped "state terrorism".

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that India is ready to provide any help to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on since February 2022. Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to Ukraine and Poland, said, "If India can be of any help, in any manner, we are there."

Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, where the two leaders "prominently" discussed the attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia between Iran and the US.

Welcoming Jaishankar's offer to help resolve the conflict, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said that he now believes there would be a "new dynamic" in peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

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"I believe that we will now have a new dynamic in the peace efforts, with the return of this active phase of political and diplomatic engagement in many capitals around the world," Sybiha said, as quoted by Reuters.

India has been consistently calling for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, during his address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, described "dialogue and diplomacy" as the only way forward to "resolve conflicts".

Putin Hints At Peace Deal, But With A Caveat:

Russian President Vladimir Putin today hinted that there could be a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, but added that it will only happen if Ukraine stops "state terrorism". Putin has time and again accused Ukraine of threatening planes in Russian airspace, calling it "state terrorism".

Putin also lauded the countries, including the US and China, for supporting the peace deal between the two sparring nations, but asserted that the resolution to the conflict "ultimately" depends on Russia and Ukraine.

"Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict - Russia and Ukraine. This is the correct approach," the Russian President saiḍ,.

"Yet, we are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is," he added.

While both countries are hopeful of a resolution to the four-year-old conflict, neither Putin nor Sybiha cited specific reasons to expect progress. Putin also called out "Ukraine's latest actions against Russia, terming them an obstacle to the end of the war.

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Putin said Ukrainian attacks on civilian merchant ships and "reported threats of attacks on civilian aircraft" were "acts of state terrorism", which he said "complicates the prospects for bilateral peace talks".

However, Putin said contacts with Ukraine were still taking place. "It is difficult for me to say right now to what extent these contacts are leading to a peace agreement, given the statements we have heard recently from Ukraine's top leadership," he said.

"However, contacts do exist and are continuing on an ongoing basis - again, primarily through intelligence channels," he added.

After four and a half years of Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, it is rare for either side to offer an upbeat assessment of peace prospects. They last met for US-mediated talks in February.

Since then, with the US distracted by the Iran war, both Russia and Ukraine have ramped up long-range air attacks deep inside the other's territory. Hostilities at sea have escalated sharply with attacks by both sides on ports and commercial shipping, pushing up global grain prices.

 

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