The Indian Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has explained that India is maintaining contacts with the authorities of Ukraine and Russia to organize the transport of grain and fuel through the Black Sea, with the aim of protecting its supply chains in the region and ensuring the continuity of shipments.
In this context, he emphasized that New Delhi "supports diplomacy" between the parties after more than four years of invasion and, for the first time, has acknowledged that India is conveying messages between Kiev and Moscow about possible maritime agreements in the area, as reported by the newspaper 'The Hindu'.
Referring to the link with Moscow, Jaishankar highlighted that the bilateral relationship is going through a good moment and expressed his gratitude for Russia's support "in the bad times," while referring to the United States as a "lonely power."
"We have conversations with Russia and Ukraine about the need for dialogue and diplomacy," he noted, also highlighting the relevance of "being helpful, starting with security in the Black Sea and the naval issue." "After that, we can go further to address some concerns that are immediately arising between the parties regarding the export of grain and energy," he pointed out. "Those are conversations that are open right now," he added.
This is the first occasion on which the head of Indian diplomacy has provided details about these contacts, which have taken place during his recent trips to Ukraine and Russia, as well as in his meetings with the foreign ministers of both countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly held last week.
At the same time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in France last June and has held two meetings in the last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In these meetings, Modi publicly defended the need to move from "endless wars" to "the end of the war."