India opts out of joint communique at Swiss Peace Summit; pushes for 'sincere' engagement between Russia, Ukraine
- In Reports
- 12:28 PM, Jun 17, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Sunday, India was one of the countries that refrained from signing a joint communique at a summit hosted in Switzerland aimed at peace in Ukraine. Despite this, New Delhi reiterated its call for "sincere and practical engagement" between Moscow and Kyiv to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Pavan Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, represented India at the summit held in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock. The event was attended by delegates from over 100 countries and organisations, including several heads of state. Notably, Russia was not invited to the summit, and China opted not to attend.
According to the communique, signed by as many as 80 countries, the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine should be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia’s war.
However, underlining that “enduring peace can be achieved only through dialogue and diplomacy,” Kapoor said that such peace requires “bringing together all stakeholders and a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict.”
In his statement, Pavan Kapoor explained India's decision not to sign the joint communique by noting that Moscow, one of the two parties involved in the conflict, did not attend the summit in Burgenstock, central Switzerland. The war between Russia and Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has now entered its third year without any clear resolution in sight.
Reflecting New Delhi’s diplomatic tightrope walk that has marked its diplomacy since the beginning of the war, in a prepared text at the summit, Kapoor said, “Our participation in the 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 parties can lead to abiding peace. In line with this approach, we have decided to avoid association with the joint communique or any other document emerging from the summit.”
The primary objective of the 'Summit on Peace in Ukraine', which concluded on Sunday, was to promote a future peace process. The Indian delegation participated in both the opening and closing plenary sessions of the summit.
In his remarks, Kapoor said India deemed it "important to join the gathering that seeks to explore the way forward to a negotiated settlement of a very complex and pressing issue".
"India shares the global concern over the situation in Ukraine and supports any collective desire to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict," he said.
"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," Kapoor added.
Besides India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and UAE were among the countries participating at the summit on peace for Ukraine but did not sign a final communique, the Swiss government said on Sunday. Brazil, which was listed as an “observer” on the list of attendees, also did not feature as a signatory.
Switzerland, which hosted the summit, said over 90 countries took part in the talks, and the vast majority of them — 80 countries and 4 organizations — signed the communique.
In the joint communique issued at the end of the Peace Summit, the signatories reaffirmed their commitment to "refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state" and the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, within their internationally recognised borders.
A day before the Swiss conference, Modi had met Zelenskyy and had said that “the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy” and that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution. The meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy came less than 10 days after their phone conversation on June 6.
Image source: Indian Express
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