A peace summit for Ukraine in India?
Photo. Volodymyr Zełenski/X
Kyiv understands that the road to peace may lead not through Brussels or Washington, but through New Delhi — because Prime Minister Narendra Modi today has the uncommon capacity to engage both with Putin and with Zelensky. If Ukraine plays the Global South card, India could become a mediator whom Russia would find difficult to ignore.
A central task for Kyiv’s diplomacy is to cultivate the goodwill of countries commonly designated the Global South, which are beginning to play a decisive role in international affairs and can exert tangible influence on a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.
A forward-looking move would be to enlist Narendra Modi and India to host a peace summit in New Delhi. India is a player whose voice Russia cannot afford to disregard, and the rhetoric of the Indian prime minister appears to favour a negotiated settlement — which, at present (under certain conditions), aligns with the Ukrainian vision and runs counter to Russian rhetorics.
Modi has managed to sustain good relations with both Putin and Zelensky, while simultaneously maintaining very strong ties with President Macron, not least because India purchases substantial quantities of armaments from France.
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Mediators such as India or Qatar are significant for sustaining international attention on the conflict in Eastern Europe. This also matters for the countries on NATO’s eastern flank, which seek support at the global level.
The effectiveness of Ukrainian diplomacy increasingly depends on its ability to reach beyond the Euro-Atlantic circle of support and to anchor its narrative within Global South states. Not only does engagement by actors such as India or Qatar raise political pressure on Russia but it also helps preserve global attention to the conflict, preventing its „regionalization” in international perception.
For Kyiv, as well as for countries on NATO’s eastern flank, this represents an instrument to strengthen the legitimacy of actions vis-à-vis Moscow and a potential channel of influence over the shape of a future peace process.
