Until there is a just peace, Ukraine and India shall have to work together. This can be the shortest summary of the shortest visit to Kyiv by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 23. There is no peace in sight. Russia made 200 missile and drone strikes August 25 and 26, and Ukraine’s Kursk campaign goes on unabated, its Palyanytsia drones striking 900km inside Russian territory.
The historic visit, the first visit by any prime minister, coincided with the Day of the Ukrainian Flag on the eve of the 33rd Independence Day of Ukraine, the underlying message being of support to the sovereignty of Ukraine, something that Russia is trying to destroy.
Loaded with euphoria of desis and Ukrainian India lovers, the visit had created an ambience of expectations long before it took place. Questions such as these were at the top: Will India mediate? Will it have an out-of-the-box solution to stop a war that has lasted more than 915 days?
Modi’s visit to Moscow in July, and the contrasting optics with President Vladimir Putin and the simultaneous missile strikes of a children’s hospital had caused embarrassment sufficient enough to announce a visit to Ukraine.
Optics matter in any visit, even if they bely the nuances of protocol, which only professionals can fathom for interpreting the real essence. In this sense, the optics were pre-arranged. Well-dressed Indians from all Ukrainian cities flocked to the Hyatt Regency Hotel to greet Modi, who appeared at 8 o’clock. The night before was not quiet in Kyiv; till 1:30am there were sirens of ballistic missile threats.
Modi greeted leaders of the diaspora, without any formal discussion with them unlike in Moscow or in Warsaw, and then paid homage at the Gandhi statue at the Botanical Gardens. He had another meet-and-greet while leaving Ukraine, just walking in the lobby and waving goodbye to those present. The diaspora had yearned for more and could have shared their stories from the ground. Such a meeting would have been a healing touch for the Indians here, who keep the dignity of India and the tricolour high even when New Delhi’s policies make them vulnerable to criticism.
Modi had short interactions with children learning Hindi at the Kyiv Oriental Languages Gymnasium, as well as with indologists and academicians. With President Volodymyr Zelensky, he visited an exhibition dedicated to the children killed in the war. It was a poignant moment.
The major part of the visit was in the Mariinsky palace, where, in the White Hall, Modi wrote in the guest book: “On behalf of 1.4 billion people of India, I pray for peace, progress and prosperity for the friendly people of Ukraine.” Then started the negotiations that were planned for half an hour but lasted for more than two hours.
Four memorandums of understanding were signed: on humanitarian aid for community development; on agricultural products; on drugs and control over narcotics; and on cultural cooperation. In each of them, there are competitive advantages to both sides. It is these win-win options that enable Ukraine and India to walk hand in hand and be equal partners. India and Ukraine made concrete practical steps towards lifting up the political relations. These can perhaps take their relations to a new level.
What was left out was the heavy issues of nuclear security and Zelensky’s ten-point peace plan. The two sides need to crystallise their positions. Issues of ambiguity are India’s purchase of Russian oil, India’s relations with Putin’s regime and India’s role in the peace negotiation process. The presence of the national security adviser and the external affairs minister in the Indian team indicated that discussion of these issues must have been held without any final commitments and obligations. So, precisely these issues were raised by Indian journalists at the press meet by President Zelensky at the end of the visit.
Zelensky was frank, answering in Ukrainian, sometimes in English. He said India should not enable Russia in any way and could do more to support Ukraine. He explained the real intent of Russia to wage the war and the rationale of Ukraine’s Kursk operation, without going into details.
He said: “I want to know more about India. To know the country you need to know its peoples. I need to talk to Indians and learn more.” There is no doubt that people to people connections among our nations are the focus of both Ukraine and India. Zelensky understands that perfectly.
Media and expert feedback on Modi’s visit were extraordinarily warm, almost all showing a stark break from the usual stance on India, ranging from hesitant and vague to suspicious and negative. This by itself is a victory, albeit small, for Indian diplomacy in its ropewalk between Russia and Ukraine.
Therefore, until Zelensky visits India, as invited by Modi, there is a lot of work to do for both the sides to understand each other better.
The author, formerly with the UN, is associate professor of international relations at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy.