(Former German envoy Walter J. Lindner has rightly said ‘India is the only country with a good relationship” with both Russian and Ukrainian Presidents Putin and Zelensky. The Trump presidency could rope in New Delhi to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.) 

It is heartening to note that US President Donald J Trump is striving hard to strike a “just and lasting” solution to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war and reach a peace settlement between the two nations. Last month, his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Walz and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff had a preliminary round of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Affairs Advisor Yuri Ushakov in Riyadh to this effect.

Knowledgeable sources say there are auspicious signs of the possible resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The Riyadh talks have been structured to culminate into a Trump-Putin summit that would have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on board .The recent “brawl” President Trump and his Vice President JD Vance had with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Oval Officeis unlikely to queer the pitch of peace in the region. President Zelensky is in touch with the officials of the Trump presidency to end the Russia-Ukraine war. He is being in touch also with Saudi de facto ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was instrumental in the recent US-Russia talk in Riyadh. In the wake of the Trump-Zelensky brawl, Washington has suspended its military aid to and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. It is however, likely to review it. Washington must be well aware Kyiv cannot be isolated if a deal to end the Ukraine crisis is to be effective.

Thee sources counsel Washington may rope in New Delhi to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer. In a media interview, former German Ambassador to India Walter J. Lindner (2019-2022) has rightly said that ‘India is the only country with a good relationship” with both Russian and Ukrainian Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy. The Trump presidency could heed the inherent German counsel in the matter.   

It is very well known that New Delhi has had a pacifist approach to defuse the Russo-Ukrainian crisis from the very day it erupted, India has consistently emphasized to engage “with all stakeholders and understanding different perspectives, approaches, and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict.”

The principled neutrality India has practiced during the Ukraine crisis makes it very much possible for New Delhi to persuade President Zelensky to drop his demand for the membership of the NATO, the main cause of the current conflict, and Putinto return back to Ukraine its territory Russia has occupied during this war.

New Delhi would do well to help Washington resolve the Ukrainian crisis. It would be in tune with its emphasis on world peace.Also, there is a near consensus across the world strategic community that the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war must stop. This war has been a scourge for the entire humanity. It has claimed the lives of too many peoples in Russia and Ukraine. The economic sanctions the United States under its former President Joe Biden and its Western allies slapped on Russia in the wake of the latter’s invasion of Ukraine have proved very costlynot only to Russia and Ukraine but to the entire world.

New Delhi must also be aware that ending the Russo-Ukrainian crisis is in India’s interest. In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has come much closer to Beijing. The coalescence between Russia and China, both nuclear powers, might embolden Beijing to activate its well-documented  designs against India.

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