OpinionsINDIA NOW SEEN AS A PEACE BROKER

INDIA NOW SEEN AS A PEACE BROKER

Date:

Presidency gives opportunity to end war in

Ukraine
KUMARDEEP BANERJEE

A couple of news articles in the US-based prominent news outlets suggest a change in the headwinds in the western
narrative of war in Ukraine. India, which was seen as a key ally to Russia in its unilateral war, is now being touted as a
probable peace broker. The articles quote the role India has played silently at key flash points during the nearly nine
month old war. First, India is said to have influenced Russia to lift the blockade on grain ships from Ukraine and ensured
that millions of tons of grains were released for consumption. Similarly, India has also been credited to be the back-
room peacemaker, avoiding a catastrophic nuclear blow up when Russia was shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in
Ukraine.
This backhanded acknowledgement of India's autonomous foreign policy on most global affairs in the current play of
events shows New Delhi has managed to sell its version of the story to the US audience, even though Europe may still
have its own version of the reality. These articles also come at a time when Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar

was on a two day visit to Russia (after his last trip in July 2021), a first bilateral visit from a high ranking Indian official,
since Russia marched its troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Jaishankar during the visit met his counterpart Sergey
Lavrov and deputy prime minister of the Russian federation Denis Manturov. In the run up to Jaishankar's visit to Russia,
Lavrov had said that both countries shared similar positions on most pressing global issues and also in their adherence to
law and UN charter (which has been under severe criticism by the west, due to Russia's unilateral military
move in Ukraine).
He added that both India and Russia stood for a more just and equal polycentric world order. The Ministry of External
Affairs statement read that the visit focused on regional and international developments and on bilateral economic
cooperation across domains. Clearly, Ukraine was the key topic of discussion with Russia and its impact on a huge chunk
of nations representing the global south, whose key spokesperson is India. The war in Ukraine, completing nearly a year,
has eroded political and economic capital for almost all parties involved. Even though US has been steadfast in its support
for the cause of Ukraine citizens, and has been bankrolling their right to defend, against a bully, chinks are emerging in
the narrative.
The US consumers facing a historic 40 years high inflation, primarily driven by record gas prices at fuel stations, melt
down in the tech sector, have started to question the validity of writing off billions of dollars to Ukraine. The midterm
results in the US have further complicated President Joe Biden's ability to keep funding the war. Europe is also waking up
from the deep shock of having faced physical war in its backyard after the Second World War. Russia, the aggressor, has
managed to hold its ground despite the sanctions imposed by western nations but its supreme leader, President Vladimir
Putin, is far from being the heroic figure he had set out to establish. The nine-month war has deeply eroded Russia's
military equipment and personnel, much of which will take decades to be refurbished. His initial target of winning Ukraine
in a couple of months and installing a Russia-friendly government in Ukraine within a couple of weeks, has stretched on
for months, slowly gnawing at his public image. India is all set to take on the presidency of prestigious G20 next month
and one of the key highlights could be brokering peace in Ukraine.

(The author is a foreign affairs commentator)

Courtesy: Dailypioneer.com

Northlines
Northlines
The Northlines is an independent source on the Web for news, facts and figures relating to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and its neighbourhood.

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