Only proposals acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine can lead to peace, said India as New Delhi decided to disassociate itself from the final document issued on June 16 at the conclusion of a Peace Summit in Switzerland. India was among at least seven countries that refused to endorse the “Joint Communique on a Peace Framework” released in Burgenstock, the venue of the two-day summit. The communique, that called for the protection of Ukraine’s “territorial integrity”, was built on Ukraine’s peace formula, and the UN charter and resolutions thus far was signed by more than 80 countries.
“Our participation in the summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understanding different perspectives, approaches and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict, in our view, only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (West) Pavan Kapoor, explaining India’s stand at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Summit, but Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited to attend, with Swiss officials saying Russia could join a future conference on the “road map” to peace. Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates were among other countries that refused to sign the communique. Brazil maintained an observer status, and China declined the invitation to participate altogether.
When asked about India’s abstention, Swiss Ambassador to India Ralf Heckner said that despite the decision, “it was good that India was present” at a conference where the number of countries represented “half of the world” and a “quarter of the world” was represented by heads of state or government.
In a statement, the MEA said India had attended the summit, along with previous meetings at the NSA level in Jeddah in August 2023 and Deputy NSA level in Davos in January 2023 in line with its desire to “facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy”.
Consistent policy
“Such a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict [Russia and Ukraine],” the statement added. India’s decision to attend, but distance itself from the joint statement is also in line with the government’s consistent policy of abstention from all resolutions at the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, International Atomic Energy Agency and Human Rights Council thus far that are critical of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Organisers had said the invitation to India, as well as leading countries of the Global South or BICS (referring to Brazil-India-China-South Africa or BRICS minus Russia) was especially important in order to bring about a global consensus and include their concerns on food and energy security. In a visit to India last month to press the point, Swiss Foreign Secretary Alexandre Fasel had said India and fellow BICS countries could act as “go-betweens that have the trust of either side,” referring to Russia and Western countries supporting Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had originally been invited to the Summit, where a number of world leaders except U.S. President Biden, who sent Vice-President Kamala Harris, attended, but he had declined the invitation. On the sidelines of the G-7 outreach summit in Italy on Friday, Mr. Modi met Mr. Zelenskyy, promising support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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