Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told his nation that “India can be more active in efforts to end aggression”, swiftly following through a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few hours earlier during which he had said he was counting on New Delhi to participate in the implementation of his peace plan.
In a televised address to Ukraine, Zelensky referred to his telephone conversation with Modi earlier in the day and said: “Next year, it will be India that will preside over the G20. I wished Mr Modi a fruitful presidency, and fruitful not for someone in particular, but for everyone in the world who values peace.”
Zelensky added: “India can be more active in efforts to end aggression, so I hope we can do more together for global stability in the coming year.”
The remark about a G20 summit “fruitful not for someone in particular” is a clear allusion to Russia which, Ukraine believes, is benefiting from India’s decision to buy Russian oil. Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar has time and again been insisting with data that even the enhanced purchases by Indian oil companies this year are a fraction of what the European Union continues to buy from Russia.
New Delhi remained non-committal on Zelensky’s loaded statement, which sought to articulate an expectation from India to do more. Since the war broke out between Ukraine and Russia, India has refused to condemn Moscow while consistently calling for cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue and diplomacy.
At his only meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (after Russia invaded Ukraine) in Uzbekistan in September, Modi had told him this was not the era of war, a statement welcomed by the western world. The formulation also found its way into the G20 communique in Bali but the Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with India’s position.
While the Prime Minister is said to have expressed India’s support for any peace effort, the readout of Monday’s conversation with Zelensky did not specifically mention the Ukrainian President’s peace plan which involves Russia reaffirming the territorial integrity of Ukraine, withdrawing its troops from Ukrainian territory, paying compensation for the damage caused and punishing war criminals.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to Ukraine, according to a report in the Russian state-owned news agency TASS. “The enemy is well aware of our proposals on the demilitarisation and denazification of the (Kiev) regime’s controlled territories, the elimination of threats to Russia’s security that come from there and it includes our new territories (DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions),” the minister said.
“There is a little left to do -- to accept these proposals in an amicable way. Otherwise, the Russian Army will deal with this issue,” Lavrov added.
