India, which was very “well placed” with its economic might and special relationship with Russia, should send another strong message to Russia as well as use its G20 Presidency to bring world leaders, including Ukraine, together for a “frank and open discussion” on the way forward in the war towards a resolution, said Ukrainian Member of Parliament Vadym Halaichuk. Meanwhile, Andriy Yermak, Head of Ukraine President’s Office who held a telephonic conversation with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval sought India’s support for the 10-point Peace Formula proposed by them.
The draft resolution on support for the principles of the United Nations Charter, which form the basis of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, is set to be taken up by the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.
“The message from PM Modi that this is not the era of war should have been interpreted as a message to Russian leadership that they need to stop and think on how to end it and what to do next. Unfortunately, they didn’t hear it. What we hope for is that another message, a stronger one, will be sent. We believe that the right thing to do would be to use the Presidency in the G20 to bring together the leaders of G20 and bring in Ukraine where we can have a frank and open discussion about what’s going on and what do we do next,” Mr. Halaichuk told The Hindu on Wednesday. He was at the Ukranian Embassy premises where a photo exhibition was opened to mark one year of the war which will be open for public on February 23 and 24. which was attended by several European Ambassadors and seniors diplomats in India.
This was something India was very well placed to do, he said, “Whether it is economic might or the special relationship with Russia... as difficult as it is to persuade them, I am still sure there are lot of smart people in Russia who understand that Russia is on a suicidal mission now...”
The hope was that this long tradition that India had for peaceful resolution of conflicts and the general attitude that Indian politicians had would help to bring Russian politicians to some sense and talk what they wanted, the visiting MP said. “We see grounds for negotiations there and hope for Indian support and become an intermediary to make that happen,” Mr. Halaichuk said.
Stating that India and its citizens had sent humanitarian assistance such as medicines, he said negotiations were under way for equipment like electric-grid equipment while also noting that discussions were also on for future reconstruction where India and Indian companies could play a large role.
“We are defending basic human values”, Mr. Halaichuk said addressing the gathering and added that it all started in Crimea in 2014 and it would end there.
Embassy officials stated that Ukraine had sought an invitation for the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting scheduled to be held on March 1 and 2 but there had been no response. They expressed confidence that Ukraine would be invited for the G20 Heads of Parliament to be held in the middle of this year and the G20 summit year-end.
‘End the war in just manner’
During the telephonic conversation Mr. Yermak informed Mr. Doval about the current situation at the front, in particular about the extremely difficult defence of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, a statement from the President’s office said. He said that Russia was preparing for another offensive and that they were preparing to respond. “We will not stop until we liberate all our territories. We only need weapons,” he conveyed.
He stated that while Ukraine continued to fight on the battlefield, it had, at the same time, proposed a peace plan — a 10-point Peace Formula that provided comprehensive answers to the question of what needed to be done “to end the war in a sustainable and just manner.”
“Cooperation with India is very important to us. We believe that you will support our resolution, as it contains very correct wording on the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity. Our goals are transparent and clear: we do not claim a single centimetre of Russian territory, we just want to get ours back,” he conveyed to Mr. Doval according to the statement.
Mr. Yermak said that Ukraine welcomed any initiatives to end the war and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but these should “not be partial temporary solutions such as a ceasefire, but a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory” which was “unacceptable” for Ukraine. The parties agreed to maintain close contact on the eve of the U.N. General Assembly vote, the statement added.
‘Transformative moment’
“Whatever the outcome [of the war], which I am sure is the victory of Ukraine, things won’t be back to the original position as earlier,” noted Diana Mickevičienė, Lithuanian Envoy in India. She termed the beginning of the war as transformative for Ukraine in their ability to defend themselves and for their country and Europe as well in terms threat perception.
“It is also transformative for Russia as they are on a self-destruction mission and don’t know where they will stop,” she stated adding that Russia was losing the military side, lost the Ukranians as well and overall was coming out very weak. On the conversation with India, Ms. Mickevičienė added that they were having an open and frank dialogue with Indian side and they were closely following the evolving position.
