India has opted not to align itself with the final communique emerging from the peace summit on Ukraine, held in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday. Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), represented India at the summit and stressed that India shares the global concern over the situation in Ukraine and supports any collective desire to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
"India’s participation in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, as well as in the preceding NSA/Political-Director level meetings based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, is in line with our clear and consistent approach that enduring peace can be achieved only through dialogue and diplomacy. We continue to believe that such a peace requires bringing together all stakeholders and a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict," he said.
He mentioned that India would continue to engage with all stakeholders as well as Russia and Ukraine to contribute to all efforts to achieve lasting peace.
Regarding India's stance on attending the Ukraine Peace Summit but not aligning with the joint statement, Kapoor said, "Our participation in this Summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understanding different perspectives, approaches, and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict."
"In our view, only those options acceptable to both the parties can lead to abiding peace. In line with this approach, we have decided to avoid association with the Joint Communiqué or any other document emerging from this Summit," he added.
India took this stance so as not to upset Russia, which was not invited to the Summit.
This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, and assured him that India continues to advocate for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
"India is eager to further cement bilateral relations with Ukraine. Regarding the ongoing hostilities, reiterated that India believes in a human-centric approach and believes that the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy,” said Modi after the meeting.
Before the G7 Summit, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated PM Modi on securing a third term as Prime Minister. In March, Prime Minister Modi had a telephone conversation with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ways to strengthen their respective bilateral partnerships.
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Ukraine Peace Summit Declaration Stresses Commitment To 'Territorial Integrity'
More than 90 nations participated in the Burgenstock summit, which focused on ending the conflict that began when Russia invaded Ukraine over two years ago, news agency AFP reported. The majority supported a final communique advocating dialogue between Ukraine and Russia while upholding Ukraine's territorial integrity.
According to AFP, the communique stated: "We believe that reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties." It emphasised a commitment to the "territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine". The declaration also called for a full exchange of prisoners of war and the return of deported children.
Besides India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among countries that abstained from endorsing the communique, AFP reported. Their absence from the list of supporting states highlighted divisions among participants regarding approaches to resolving the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed optimism about garnering international consensus on a peace proposal to present to Moscow following the summit, AFP's report stated. The event also addressed humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchanges and the return of displaced children.
A notable aspect of the summit was the absence of Russia and China. Meanwhile, Russia continued its military actions in southern Ukraine, claiming that its troops had captured Zagrine village.