Positive step: Editorial on India's peace initiative in Russia-Ukraine war

For India, the step from backing diplomacy as a principle to actively playing a mediator's role between Russia and Ukraine is a significant, positive foreign policy shift

India has backed up its recent offer to mediate between Russia and Ukraine by sending a three-point proposal that could serve as the backbone for negotiations to end their war. The proposal, sent to Moscow and Kyiv, is significant both for its contents and for the fact that New Delhi has until now abstained from sharing peace formulas while advocating for diplomacy in the multiple conflicts tearing the world apart. The proposal includes suggestions for specific points that Russia and Ukraine, engaged in a full-fledged war since February 2022, can potentially agree upon while negotiating on broader, more contentious issues. India has reportedly proposed that Russia and Ukraine stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure, allow food shipments to transit the war zone, and abstain from hitting commercial shipping in the Black Sea. India's proposal has found early enthusiasm in Kyiv; Ukraine's foreign minister has called it comprehensive. Crucially, the proposal also addresses key concerns of not only Russia and Ukraine but also the rest of the world. Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, has recently prodded Ukraine to stop striking Russia's diesel facilities even as prices of that fuel reach record levels. Ukraine is a major grain provider to many parts of the Global South where food inflation has been soaring amid multiple wars. Moreover, India itself has been impacted by attacks on ships passing through the Black Sea with Indian sailors being victims.

India's proposal is only the latest among several pushed by multiple countries aimed at ending the war. None of them has succeeded so far. Deep distrust between Ukraine and Russia means any effort at diplomacy faces steep challenges. Yet India's proposal is different from previous peace plans advocated by other nations. Some, like China, have offered only vague proposals that do not detail specific action items; the suggestions by most other countries have made little headway because their framers are distrusted by either Russia or Ukraine. India, traditionally a close partner of Russia, has in recent months tried to also reach out meaningfully to Ukraine; New Delhi appears to have gained credibility in Kyiv as a reliable mediator. For India, the step from backing diplomacy as a principle to actively playing a mediator's role is a significant, positive foreign policy shift.