On the fringes of the BRICS Summit, Russian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly volunteered to assist in mediating peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin “welcomed their readiness,” according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The development coincides with US President Donald Trump’s ongoing attempts to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which have not yet been successful.
During the BRICS Summit, the unity among what some pundits referred to as the “power trio”, Modi, Xi, and Putin, was evident. The picture of the three leaders holding hands and grinning on the first day of the summit was the most striking.
In addition to showcasing the leaders’ rapport, it conveyed a message of solidarity in the face of a shattered world order. Russia has long valued PM Modi’s assistance in promoting peace negotiations. But it’s also a big deal, given that the US is trying to find a means to restart the stalled negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
As Russia gets ready for its first parliamentary election (September 18–20) since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the timing is critical. With Putin’s support, the United Russia party is probably going to continue to rule Parliament.
A few days ago, Trump called Putin and demanded an immediate stop to the conflict in Ukraine. According to Reuters, the US President emphasized that it would enable the full restoration of US-Russian relations.
The call came after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, visited Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend in an attempt to find a way to put an end to the war, which has been going on for almost five years. However, little real progress was made as a result of the diplomacy.
However, India has become a significant potential conduit for communication between the two nations. In actuality, India is one of the few nations with cooperative relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
“India has the unique capacity to communicate simultaneously with the West, Moscow, and Tehran. The Indic Researchers Forum think tank’s director, Srinivaasan Balakrishnan, told the South China Morning Post, “That access is real.”
Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, India, which primarily relies on inexpensive oil from Russia for its energy needs, has made a number of similar appeals to Putin.
Modi had pushed Putin to switch from “endless war” to “end of war” during their bilateral meeting last month on the fringes of the SCO Summit in Bishkek. “The Russian President was informed by the Prime Minister that “every day spent in war pushes humanity back.”
PM Modi’s tone was more aggressive. At the SCO Summit in 2022, Prime Minister Modi made it clear to Putin that “today’s era is not an era of war.” Modi informed Putin that “dialogue and diplomacy” was “the way forward in resolving conflicts” and that India is “ready to assist in peace efforts” during another round of bilateral talks on Friday.
The Kremlin has previously stated that Russia and India share a similar stance on Ukraine.
“We know India’s position, and to a great extent… it corresponds with our own position, because we do want the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict by peaceful means and Russia is open to this process,” the Kremlin had previously stated.
Putin and Zelensky of Ukraine may meet in person for the first time since the start of the conflict as early as December of this year at the G20 Summit. Zelensky stated that if Putin shows up for the summit, he is prepared to travel to Miami.