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1 September 2024

Could Modi turn out to be Ukraine’s peace guru?

Konstantinos Bogdanos

There is a long tradition of Westerners resorting to India to find peace. As the world now seems to agree that it is about time we found a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war, could an Indian political guru manage to achieve reconciliation?

In theory, everyone wants peace in Ukraine. But in order for this to happen, both sides need to sit at the negotiating table. Many so far have tried to mediate and all have failed.

Turkish President Erdogan, who has been playing both sides in the conflict, has attempted to act as a middleman, but without success. China has also sent an envoy to Moscow and Kyiv. Even Pope Francis offered his services, to no avail.

Peace summits and meetings have been held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in Malta, Qatar and Switzerland. Both the UN and the EU have been supposedly active in seeking to broker some sort of agreement between the two fighting sides. Nothing has been achieved,

Enter India’s prime minister. Last week Narendra Modi visited Ukraine in what was the first visit ever of an Indian leader to Kyiv. He literally embraced Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed his desire to see the war end and offered his services to assist in making it happen.

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