EAM Jaishankar says India is sharing intelligence between Russia and Ukraine and hopes to create peace

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks in New York on September 24, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP

The war between Russia and Ukraine will not be resolved on the battlefield, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday (September 24, 2024), adding that the government is talking to both sides to see if there is anything it can do to expedite the end of the war and initiate serious negotiations between the two countries.

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“We are having a kind of exploratory talk. We do not have a peace plan yet,” Jaishankar said during a discussion at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.

The minister said the government was passing on the discussions it had with one party to the other.

“My impression is that both sides appreciate this,” he said, adding that there are not many countries and heads of state willing or able to reach out to both sides.

His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Mr Modi was in Kyiv in late August and then spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also met with Mr Putin earlier this month on the sidelines of the BRICS-NSA meeting in St. Petersburg.