Ukrainian soldiers march during the Russian offensive in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk October 2 2022
The inconclusive outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Wednesday was easily predictable. Because this initiative had no meaning.
Before Modi’s call, Zelensky made a dramatic move to demand NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) membership, underlining that doing so would entitle Kyiv to access to the coalition’s vast military resources to fight Russia. ; He then also signed the Presidential Decree, through which he rejected any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Again, earlier this week, the Biden administration made it clear that this was not the time for talks. In fact, both Zelensky and Biden have literally suppressed Putin’s offer of 30 September talks.
Following a phone conversation with President Biden with Zelensky on Monday, Home Secretary Antony Blinken announced the latest “package” of $625 million for additional weapons, munitions and equipment to Ukraine from Pentagon inventory. The statement said:
“We will stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence with extraordinary courage and immense determination. The capabilities we give them are carefully calibrated to make a big difference on the battlefield. So that Ukraine can have a hand in talks with Russia at the right time. [उक्त बात ज़ोर देकर कही गई है]
The emphasis of Blinken’s remarks is: ‘This is a time to fight and a time to talk will come when Ukraine is at a juncture when it makes some progress in retaliatory strikes, so the Biden administration is prioritizing military operations so that in the future. Upon arrival, Zelensky should be in a strong position and able to negotiate with the Russians with gusto.’
Does this kind of stance currently reflect America’s willingness to engage in peace talks? Certainly, I don’t think so. Those driving Indian foreign policy should be aware that Zelensky will do what Washington wants, which means rejecting talks with Putin is part of the White House’s long game of Kremlin regime change.
The US estimates, rightly or wrongly, that Ukraine’s offensive “offensive” on Russian forces will proceed within the coming 6–8 weeks before Russian forces advance with an additional 370,000 troops (including through partial mobilization). 300,000 soldiers and another 70,000 volunteers).
In fact, Ukraine has advanced rapidly, and now claims that after the city of Liman in Donetsk, which it captured last week, its forces have been able to cover the entire Luhansk region, that is, the eastern part of the Donbass, to Russian forces. Willing to move forward to push back.
In such a militaristic background, it seems redundant that India is in such a hurry to release a peace messenger pigeon into the skies. What was Delhi’s intention behind calling Zelensky? Was it an exercise in upholding the “United Nations Charter, international law, and the importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states”? As stated in the Ministry of External Affairs statement. Or, called out to emphasize that “the threat of nuclear weapons can have far-reaching and disastrous consequences on public health and the environment” (a well-known fact of life)?
In fact, India’s absence in the UN Security Council vote on 30 September was the right decision, but our “explanatory note” on that was bad, reflecting the sense of desperation that India called out so that our intervention was also on record. Can be registered
India is procrastinating. Compare, for example, the Indian explanatory note with the convincing, reasoned, coherent Chinese statement made by its PR on 30 September. While India has been dancing around the first circle of the Ukraine question, the fact remains, as the Chinese ambassador puts it, “the current crisis in Ukraine is the result of a gathering of various long-standing problems and tensions and the interaction on the U.N. The facts have shown that political isolation, sanctions and pressure, promoting tension and factional confrontation will not bring peace. Instead, they will only worsen the situation, and make the issue more complex and difficult.”
Shouldn’t India also form an opinion on these core issues? Equally, it is incomprehensible why Modi has not spoken over the phone with Biden regarding the Ukraine conflict. How could the play Hamlet happen without the Prince of Denmark?
It is unbelievable naivete to think and do as the Ukraine conflict is between Russia and Ukraine. It’s a proxy war, idiot! Therefore, after entering the diplomatic arena, India should raise its voice about an explicit intervention, along with the US, in Ukraine.
According to Blinken, the new package announced by Biden on Monday will follow “total US military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration by more than $17.5 billion.” Now, let us ask Biden how his continued help has helped to prioritize ceasefire and “dialogue.”
The point is that Zelensky has no real motivation to negotiate with Moscow, not as long as the Biden administration continues to generously supply him with advanced weapons. Not only weapons; The Russians told the United Nations on Tuesday that Washington is “increasing arms deliveries to Ukraine, on the one hand providing intelligence to their military, and ensuring the direct participation of its fighters and advisers in the war.” . [यह] Not only is the hostilities escalating but also increasing the casualties, it is also bringing it closer to the dangerous line of direct military conflict between Russia and NATO.
Arguably, at this critical juncture of the Ukraine conflict, India’s top priority as a peacemaker—a cosmic silence before the storm—as the Bible says, should be Biden’s sharpening of plows by beating swords and spears. Should be changed to shear.
India is, perhaps, the only country that has close friendly relations with both Washington and Moscow. Being a Quad member and the “lynchpin” of America’s Indo-Pacific strategy to control China, could Delhi possibly influence the White House on issues affecting international security? Why not use some of that political capital for the noble cause of peace? After all, no significant US interests are at stake in the Ukraine conflict, which lies 10,000 kilometers from the US coastline.
If India is serious in its mission of peace in Ukraine, which is on the banks of the Dnieper River, it needs to flaunt its own initiative, or avoid having such an opinion or getting caught up in its own news cycle. Instead, go straight into America’s Hell and talk to Biden.
MK Bhadrakumar is a former diplomat. He has been the Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan and Turkey. Thoughts are personal.