India will participate in Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia: MEA

India will participate in the Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5-6, 2023, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday (August 3, 2023).

Saudi Arabia has invited several Western nations, Ukraine and some major developing countries to discuss the peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year. The plan is said to include the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops in addition to the release of all prisoners.

Russia has not been invited for the talks but it has said it will follow the discussions.

“India will participate in this event. Our participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” MEA Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India response to a question at his weekly media briefing.

Bagchi, however, did not say who would represent the country at the summit. “We will let you know when I am in a position to do so,” he said.

Meeting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on May 20, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conveyed India's clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward. He said that for a resolution of the situation, India and he personally would do everything within their means, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said after the meeting.

India has also reiterated its support for the UN's efforts in continuing the Black Sea Grain Initiative and expressed hope for an early resolution to the present impasse. On Monday (July 17, 2023), Russia said it was terminating the implementation of the UN-brokered deal that allowed food exports from Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia through a shipping corridor in the Black Sea.