The Indian delegation at the so-called "Summit of Peace in Ukraine" in Switzerland has dissociated itself from the joint communique or any final outcome document that emerges from the two-day West-backed conference.
Addressing the conference in Burgenstock on Sunday, Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) at Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), emphasized that that only solutions acceptable to “both the parties” (Russia and Ukraine) would be able to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.
“In our view, only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to an abiding peace,” stated Kapoor, who also served as India’s Ambassador to Moscow between 2021 and 2024.
“In line with this approach, we have decided to avoid association with a joint communique or any other document emerging from this summit,” he underlined.
India isn't the only country which has refused to endorse the final summit outcome over lack of representation from Russia.
Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), all part of BRICS, have also distanced themselves from the final summit outcome.
These delegations also underscored in their respective addresses that Moscow’s participation in the peace talks were absolutely critical.
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhad said in his address on Saturday that any credible peace process would require “Russia’s participation”.
Notably, China stayed away from participating in the meeting altogether because of absence of Russia from the event.
India Supports a Peaceful Resolution
Kapoor highlighted that New Delhi shared the “global concern” over the situation in Ukraine and would always be supportive of any “collective desire” to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
“Our participating in the Summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understand different perspectives, approaches and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict,” stated Kapoor, explaining the reason behind India’s participation in the Summit which has been rejected by Moscow.
He noted that New Delhi had participated in several similar meetings in the past as well.
He said that New Delhi deemed it important to join the gathering as it sought to explore a way forward to a “negotiated settlement of a very complex and a pressing issue”.
Before the Swiss Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, to resolve the conflict through “dialogue and diplomacy”.
“PM conveyed that India continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, and reiterated that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution,” said a readout of the meeting by MEA on 14 June.