Not buying Russia oil will not stop war: Jaishankar

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to move from “endless war” to “end of war”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Kyiv on Thursday that stopping purchase of Russian oil will not “dissolve” the conflict, and underlined the need for “dialogue and diplomacy”.

He said India was ready to “help in any manner” to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Demonstrating a diplomatic balancing act, Jaishankar’s bilateral visit to Ukraine comes at a time when Modi is meeting Putin twice within weeks — on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders’ summit in Bishkek on August 31, and at the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.

Responding to a question at a media briefing after his meeting with Sybiha, Jaishankar defended India’s decision to buy Russian oil. “This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not dissolve because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals… This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiations.

And that is why it is something we would encourage,” he said. He said ensuring fuel supplies for India’s 1.4 billion people is a challenge, adding that he respects Ukraine’s position on Russian oil purchases, but expects the same respect for India’s position.

“India has consistently maintained that this is not an era of war, and that solutions will not emerge from the battlefield. Just two days ago in Bishkek, Prime Minister Modi declared that endless war must now give way to the end of war.

Every passing day of conflict only means more deaths and more destruction. Understandably, it is for the parties involved to find a way. But, if India can be of any help in any manner, we are ready, and this was the core of my discussion so far with Foreign Minister Sybiha,” he said.

While Jaishankar had accompanied Modi to Ukraine in August 2024, this was his first bilateral visit to the country. Jaishankar said there were some specific aspects of the conflict that came up in the discussions on Thursday.

“Prominent among them was attacks on commercial shipping. Indian seafarers man ships of many flags and have been among the unfortunate casualties. The impact on shipping is also significantly affecting many nations of the Global South in a variety of ways, leading to fuel, fertiliser and food shortages,” he said.

He was referring to the deaths of Indians, including five seafarers, since July this year due to the exchange of fire between Russia and Ukraine. In a post on X, Jaishankar said he apprised Zelenskyy of his discussions with Sybiha on "deepening our bilateral cooperation”.

“Our conversation centered on approaches to end the ongoing conflict,” he said. Zelenskyy, in his post on X, said: “We are grateful to India for its commitment to ending this unjust war — Russia’s war against Ukraine.

This certainly must not be a time of war. Peace is needed. This is India’s clear position. Today, while the Minister was here with us in Kyiv, Russia once again launched jet-powered 'shaheds', which were developed not without Iran’s help.

Thanks to our combat aviation, the delegation was safe, because it is Ukrainian fighter jets that shoot down most of these drones. We hope that other major world powers will also take a clear stance that this war must end and that a reliable peace must be achieved.” “Of course, we discussed the situation in the Black Sea, including the existing threats to civilian shipping.

We concur that it is absolutely unacceptable to block food supplies to regions where this is a highly sensitive issue and where people depend on these maritime routes. Russia’s actions aimed at blocking our ports, our food corridor, and our supplies are causing major disruption to global relations.

We must all work together to guarantee security,” Zelenskyy said. “Honored to welcome my Indian colleague @DrSJaishankar to Kyiv for the first-ever dedicated bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Ukraine.

This historic moment takes place amid escalating Russian attacks against our cities, port infrastructure and civil shipping. Our capital is constantly under attack and I appreciate my colleague’s brave visit,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

“During our negotiations, we discussed the need to restore freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and global food security. India is a global power and we welcome Prime Minister Modi’s call to move from an endless war towards an end to the war.

Ukraine stands ready for diplomacy,” he said. “We also discussed our bilateral cooperation. From infrastructure and pharmaceutical sector to technological innovation and digitalisation, we are ready to realise our full potential.

We agreed to work on convening our next Intergovernmental Commission meeting to turn great perspectives into great mutually beneficial projects,” Sybiha said. Jaishankar invited Sybiha to India for the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission.

On bilateral cooperation, Jaishankar said: “This has a considerable history and it predates Ukraine’s independence. Our trade spans a wide range of sectors — from pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture, and fertilisers to machinery, chemicals and consumer goods.

Understandably, in the last four years, this trade has seen some disruption due to the war situation and logistical challenges. At the same time, there has been a visible resilience and, some new possibilities have emerged.” “Where the future prospects of our bilateral cooperation are concerned, we are very much aware that Ukraine has deep strengths and capabilities.

India too is developing at a rapid pace. And some of these notable areas of progress are in digital capabilities, innovation and startups. The world of AI offers new openings in health, education, agriculture, even in governance,” he said.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 27 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in...