Ukraine: Peacemaker India?

Jaishankar’s Moscow visit was crucial. New Delhi seems more ready to facilitate dialogue

- Pankaj Saran

In the normal course a visit by an external affairs minister to Moscow would have been business as usual in the toolkit of Indian foreign policy.

This time, the visit of S Jaishankar, who is no stranger to Moscow, has been followed with unusual attention. Some aspects of his public statements on the India-Russia bilateral relationship are laden with meaning, such as the listing of the high-level contacts between the two countries this year, the historical resilience of the relationship, search for ways to establish “long-term engagement” with Russia, sharp rise in the volume of bilateral trade, repeated references to the high-level nature of his delegation and reference to a multipolar and re-balanced world.

In the present circumstance, these words from a country that enjoys close relations with the West will go a long way in raising spirits in a somewhat beleaguered Moscow.

Having established India’s intent for the relationship, Jaishankar rightly felt he was entitled to also convey India’s concerns over the Ukraine conflict, which he publicly did with as much candour as is diplomatically palatable. It is most likely that the private conversations were franker.

● Jaishankar purposefully repeated PM Modi’s remark that this was not the time for war.

● He spoke about the acute pain being felt by the Global South.

● He made a strong plea for return to dialogue and diplomacy, respect for international law and support for the UN Charter.