Ukraine Peace Summit : At the Ukraine Peace Summit held in Switzerland, India made such a move that everyone was stunned. Here more than 80 countries of the world signed the peace document, but 7 countries including India did not sign it. They did not agree to the joint statement of the peace conference. When the official statement came on the last day of the conference on June 16, it talked about protecting the integrity of Ukraine. More than 80 countries signed this statement. Indian Foreign Secretary Pawan Kapoor, representing India at the conference, said that India will continue to work with all parties for a lasting solution to the Ukraine issue.
In this case, only that option will be effective which is accepted by both the parties. Only this will make lasting peace possible. This summit was addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited. Swiss officials have said that Russia may join in the future. Along with India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and UAE refused to sign the final document of the peace conference. Brazil had observer status in this conference and China refused to join it.
According to the BBC report, on India not agreeing, Derek Grossman, Indo Pacific analyst at think tank Rand Corporation, has written that India said that it is not logical to issue any statement without Russia’s consent. Russia is still a good friend of India. The interests of Indo-Pacific countries are still linked to Russia. India is the only country in South Asia that was invited to this summit. Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand were invited from South-East Asia. Japan and South Korea were representing North-East Asia. Obviously, China and North Korea are with Russia.
India participates in the meetings but does not vote
When The Hindu asked Swiss Ambassador Ralph Heckner, he said that despite India’s decision to disagree, it was good that it attended the summit. A statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that India has previously participated in meetings to resolve the Ukraine crisis. A meeting was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in August 2023 and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attended it. The Deputy NSA attended Davos in January 2023. India participates in every meeting related to the Ukraine crisis, but distances itself from its role in passing any resolution. India has had this stance since the war broke out in Ukraine. India also did this in the United Nations Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, International Atomic Energy Agency and Human Rights Council.
The West does not aim for peace
Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute, has written that I can understand the reason for India sending a secretary-level diplomat to the peace conference. But there would have been no harm if India had sent its foreign minister as well. This would have given India the message that war is not right and a peaceful settlement is necessary, which India has always said. On this comment of Kugelman, India’s former foreign secretary and India’s ambassador to Russia, Kanwal Sibal, has written on X that if the goal was really peace, India could have sent its foreign minister. But the West’s goal is not peace. The West is sending more weapons to Ukraine and taking illegal decisions on the assets of Russia’s central bank. This is not a real peace conference.
Why did India not sign?
The relations between India and Russia are historical. When there was British rule in India, the Russian Empire opened the first commercial embassy in 1900, but the relations between the two countries became warmer during the Cold War. India has always sympathized with the Soviet Union since independence. Observer Research Foundation’s political scientist Pillai Rajeshwari has written that even after the Cold War, India’s sympathy for Russia did not end. There was no change in India’s stance even in the Ukraine war. What is the basis of the aggression with which India is rejecting the pressure of the West? Many people believe that this stance of India is not new, although the style of saying has become aggressive. When America attacked Iraq in 2003, India’s stance was also similar. Stanley Johnny has written that not condemning Russia for the attack on Ukraine and staying away from voting in the condemnation resolution of the United Nations is not fundamentally different from India’s historical stance.
Big reason for not signing
The biggest reason for not signing is the friendship between India and Russia. India wants peace, but not on one-sided terms, because Russia was not a part of this summit. Because of this, India had to take this stand. India wants that before reaching any conclusion, it is necessary for Russia and Ukraine to be together on one platform. So that the world can form its opinion or consensus after listening to both the sides. If the report is to be believed, Russia was not invited to this summit. However, China and Pakistan were invited to join it, but both Pakistan and China refused to join.
