Indian PM expected to push for deal to end war in Ukraine, even if he appears too close to Russia
India's Narendra Modi has arrived in kyiv, where he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is the first time an Indian prime minister has visited the country since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Modi is expected to discuss economic ties and cooperation in defence, science and technology, while also broaching the contentious issue of a deal to end the war with Russia.
“No problem can be resolved on the battlefield,” Modi said ahead of his visit, adding that India supports “dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace and stability at the earliest.”
It is unclear whether the Indian leader could be an effective negotiator, as many in Ukraine see him as too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reporting from kyiv, Al Jazeera's Alex Gatopoulos said India would have to “perform this balancing act” between the West and Russia.
“It is a client state of Russia. The vast majority of its military equipment is Russian-made, so India cannot afford to distance itself from Russia either,” he said.
India is the world's largest buyer of Russian arms and has sought to cash in on cheaper Russian oil as the United States and European countries seek to limit the Russian energy sector's access to the global market through sanctions.
Modi's meeting with Zelenskyy comes a month and a half after he was in Moscow for talks with Putin, a visit that coincided with Russian missile strikes in Ukraine that hit a children's hospital, which the Indian leader implicitly criticised during the bilateral summit.
Modi and Putin agreed to boost bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 by increasing investment, removing non-tariff trade barriers and using national currencies to circumvent sanctions.
The meeting drew sharp criticism from Zelenskyy, who said it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy embrace the world’s bloodiest criminal in Moscow on a day like this.”
Al Jazeera's Gatopoulos said Modi's visit to Moscow was aimed at presenting himself as a mediator.
“Whether this will be successful or not, we will say in the next few days,” he said.
'A certain influence'
The visit comes at a crucial moment in the war, after Ukrainian forces launched a lightning offensive in Russia's Kursk region on August 6, as Russian troops continue to advance in eastern Ukraine.
On Friday, Ukraine’s Air Force said 14 of 16 Russian attack drones had been destroyed overnight. Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant in what it called an act of “nuclear terrorism.”
India has avoided explicitly condemning the 2022 Russian invasion and has abstained on United Nations resolutions criticising Russia, instead urging both sides to resolve their differences through direct dialogue.
Still, India maintains good relations with both Russia and the West, Ukraine's main ally, and some analysts believe Modi could play a role in pushing the two sides toward dialogue.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Modi's visit to kyiv was significant because India “really has some leverage” over Russia.
Peace Summit
Ukraine has said it hopes to host a second international summit later this year to promote its vision for peace and involve representatives from Russia.
The first summit in Switzerland that excluded Russia in June attracted many delegations, including one from India, but not from China.
Volodymyr Fesenko, a kyiv-based political analyst, said he did not expect any groundbreaking proposals to end the war to be made during Modi's trip, who visited Poland on Thursday.
For there to be any attempt at negotiations, the military situation has to be stabilised and presidential elections must be held in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine, he said.
He said the visit was important for India to show that it was “not siding with Russia” and that kyiv wanted to normalise relations after Modi's trip to Moscow.
