Any mediation effort to resolve the Ukraine Conflict must include Russia, two Indian experts have told Sputnik India.
They cast doubts on Volodymyr Zelensky's desperate efforts to pressure the Global South to attend a second Western-backed summit based on Kiev's 'peace formula', which has been rejected by Moscow.
Zelensky's statements were being studied in India, "not only by the government, but also by the strategic community," Rajiv Bhatia, a former Indian Ambassador and a Distinguished Fellow at foreign policy think tank Gateway House, told Sputnik India.
"The perception in India is clear – any peace proposal must have Russia on the table as a participant," Bhatia said. "If Russia is not on the table, those peace talks won't result in any progress towards a settlement."
Zelensky's proposals for peace in Ukraine should be treated as "purely theoretical" until there was direct participation from Moscow in such an effort, he added.
India distanced itself from the final communique issued at the conclusion of Burgenstock Summit in June due to Russia's absence, Bhatia noted.
"India is merely helping to facilitate a communication between the two sides as there are not many credible options available to do this," Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior research fellow at New Delhi-based think tank NatStrat, told Sputnik India, noting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Moscow and Kiev in July and August respectively.
"A few days ago, Foreign Minister Jaishankar had said that it is not that India has a peace plan ready but to communicate and share insights with both the sides," Sharma said, citing Jaishankar's interview to New York-based Asia Society.
"It is an early part of India’s efforts to explore space with all concerned stakeholders to communicate with Russia and Ukraine," Sharma said. "The idea is to make an effort from the Global South’s position despite knowing well that it is primarily a conflict over European security architecture."
"India will try to explore the common minimum ground between the two sides in coming days. At the moment, there seems none," he added.
Doubts Over Western Media Account of Zelensky-Modi Conversation
Both experts expressed doubts over a US media report this week that Modi told Zelensky that "any proposals to end the war should not include giving up territory to Russia", quoting an unnamed Ukrainian official. It claimed the Indian PM was Ukraine's "favoured middleman."
"I have my share of doubts on this report as India is not trying to ‘mediate’ in the Russia-Ukraine situation," Sharma stressed.
Bhatia agreed that the report should not be taken seriously.
"The conversations between Indian and Ukrainian leaders are privileged conversation. We have no access to these conversations," Bhatia said. "These reports shouldn't be taken seriously at all. Such reports can just be ignored, unless there is a word from an authoritative official source."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this week that Zelensky's proposal to hold a second summit this year with Russia's participation was nothing but "wishful thinking".
"We do not reject the resolution of the crisis through political and diplomatic means," Zakharova said. "We are open to discussing serious proposals that take into account the situation on the ground and emerging geopolitical realities, as well as the relevant initiative put forth by President of Russia Vladimir Putin on June 14."
Achieving a fair and stable peace settlement was "impossible without Russia and consideration of its interests", she reiterated.
But "Kiev and the West are not thinking about peace. They need war," Zakharova stressed. "This is confirmed by the gangster-style incursion into the Kursk Region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as by Zelensky’s persistent pleas for permission to carry out strike deep inside Russian territory using NATO’s long-range weapons."