Need to respect sovereignty, territorial integrity: NSA Doval at Jeddah meet on Ukraine
While underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without exception, dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on Saturday (August 5).
The two-day meeting on the Ukraine conflict was hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and attended by top security officials of around 40 countries, including US NSA Jake Sullivan and China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui. Russia was not invited to the deliberations.
In his address on Saturday, Doval, referring to the impact of the conflict, said the whole world, especially the Global South, is bearing the brunt of the situation. India has regularly engaged with both Russia and Ukraine at the highest levels since the beginning of the conflict and New Delhi supports a global order based on principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, Doval said.
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Doval also said that all peace efforts involving all stakeholders must be pursued to find a just and enduring solution to the conflict and that it is in this spirit that India participated in the meeting in Jeddah, people aware of the deliberations at the conference said. He said New Delhi’s approach has been and always will be to promote dialogue and diplomacy, adding this is the only way forward for peace.
The NSA also said that India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic assistance to its neighbours in the Global South.
The conference was organised with a focus on the peace formula proposed by Ukraine.
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put forward the 10-point “peace plan” for ending the conflict that included punishing those responsible for the war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine, and restoring his country’s territorial integrity. Under the plan, Zelenskyy also called for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety.
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External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday (Aug 5) that India’s participation in the meeting would be in consonance with its long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-person talks with the Ukrainian President on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. In the talks, Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India will do whatever possible to find a solution to the conflict. On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation.
At a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 16 last year in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, Modi said, “Today’s era is not of war” and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.
Zelenskyy on Friday said that it is “very important” that the world sees a fair and honest end to the Russian “aggression”. “I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations. Recently, a meeting in the same format was held in Copenhagen. We are moving step by step towards the Global Peace Summit,” he said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
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“Liberating Ukrainian land from the occupiers means restoring full respect for international law and the UN Charter,” he added. “I am grateful to all those who support the peace formula and have already joined the joint efforts for the full implementation of the Formula,” Zelenskyy said.
Ahead of the high-level conference, Saudi Arabia said it is aimed at Riyadh’s attempt to contribute to reaching a solution that will result in permanent peace and to reduce the impact of the crisis.
(With agency inputs)
