Sushil Kutty
So India is a “big country” with a “big influence” on the Russian economy and UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants India and Indians to “change their attitude” towardsRussia. For then, there will be peace as Russian President Vladimir Putin will thenend thewar. Apparently, Zelenskiy doesn’t like Modi’s crude oil deals with President Vladimir Putin.
President Zelenskiy does not like India’s “record breaking” deals for oil from Russia. India’senergy purchases from Russia figured in the discussions and Zelenskiy was told about theenergy market scenario and the need for prices to remain “reasonable and stable”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Ukraine visit came a month after he went to Moscow andlots of people were upset when he and Putin shared a warm embrace. Also, the same day anumber of Ukrainiantargets were hit by Russian strikes including a children’s hospital inKyiv. To cap it all, India overtook China as the biggest importer of Russian crude oil on thatvery day.
Also, to date, India hasn’t condemned theRussian invasion of Ukraine. There are questionsgalore: Does India favour Russia over Ukraine? Did Modi find it difficult to convince PresidentZelenskiy that India was non-aligned? Did Prime Minister Modi envisage a “personal role” forhimself in the “pursuit of peace?”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit was “historic” as he was the first Indian prime ministersince 1992 to visit Ukraine. Modi started his tour of two countries from Poland, from wherehe took a special train to Kyiv, where he met members of the Indian community and wastaken to a multimedia exposition on children who had lost their lives in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.
President Zelenskiy was by Modi’s side when Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed a “softtoy” at the shrine to the children killed in the war so far. Perhaps Ukraine did not want Modi toforget, or forgive. Modi also met Ukrainian students studying Hindi in Kyiv and he paidhomage to Mahatma Gandhi by bowing to a statue of Bapu in Kyiv.
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Modi apparently toldPresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he will personally intervene to bringpeace between Ukraine and Russia. Modi won across the spectrum praise for his offer andthe notoriously famous ‘Godi Media’ couldn’t stop celebrating Modi’s international success.
Of course, Modi also embraced Zelenskiy. The question coalesces to will Russian PresidentVladimir Putin give Modi the chance to broker peace? Diplomacy is not the break one canexpect from President Vlaidmir Putin andPresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who isn’t a Modifan like President Vladimir Putin is.
Modi’s warm hug to Putin in July was criticised by Zelenskiy, who at the time was swearingvengeance on Moscow for a series of deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets, includingone on Kyiv’s biggest children’s hospital. Whether Modi remembered or not, to expectZelenskiy to forget and forgive on Modi’s bidding is a little too rich.
Modi has told President Putin a couple of times that today’s era was of no wars and Putinshould embrace peace; that the battlefield is no place for friends. “Both sides will have to sittogether and look for ways to come out of this crisis,” Modi told Zelenskiy on Friday.
Prime Minister Modiwas also the “first international leader to visit since Ukrainian forcescrossed into Russia’s Kursk region.” Ukraine grabbed more than 1,250 sq km of Russianterritory and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expects Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiyto talk peace. Friday, theoptics from Kyiv weren’t all that encouraging for brokering peace;the “smiles werefew and far between”.
The awkward hug between the two leaders went unnoticed by the Indian contingent as alsothe diplomatic tightrope for both Modi and Zelenskiy following recenthappenings on thebattlefield. The40-killedin Russian strikes on Ukraine on the day Modi hugged Putin inMoscow. The strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.
On Friday, Modi said he was overwhelmed with “grief” when he placeda “softtoy” at theshrine for the children. Also, an image of Modi, with his arm around Zelenskiy’s shoulder,found its way to Modi’s social media with the message that his heart went out to the familiesof the children killed in the Russian strike. It was after this that Modi offered to “personallyinitiate peace talks” between Russia and Ukraine. As expected Indian media reactedwith “Modi’s dialogue and diplomacy would end the fighting.”
Modi’s big talk included the emphasis on “we have never been neutral in the war, right fromthe first day our side was Peace.” And, of course, the well-beaten – “we are from the land ofMahatma Gandhi.” How many times has this horse been flogged to death? Modi is not thefirst Indian leader to mouth this inanity, and he won’t be the last!
Modi, however, hasn’t so far – not once – condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact,Modi made sure “Moscow’s war economy” was kept well-oiled! Which media favourable toModi hasn’t applauded New Delhi for becoming the biggest importer of Russian oil? Modi’smiddle finger to Western sanctions on Russia is the stuff of Russian legend.
On August 23, Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskiy discussed Ukraine’s latestincursion into Russian territory. The exact conversation is not available, but India was at theUkraine-led peace summit in Switzerland in June this year, where Russia was not there. InKyiv on Friday, Zelenskiy and Modi gave a joint call for “sovereignty and territorial integrity” ofall countries. The world has appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offer to mediate andbring about permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine. Will Modi get the chance hecraves for? (IPA)
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