Ukraine Peace Declaration – 80 Nations Sign, India Doesn’t

NEW DELHI, (IANS) – India on June 16 said that it has decided to “avoid association with the joint communique or any other document” emerging from the two-day ‘Summit on Peace in Ukraine’ being held at Burgenstock near Lucerne in Switzerland.

“Our participation in this summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understanding different perspectives, approaches and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict,” said Pavan Kapoor, Secretary, West, at the Ministry of External Affairs who led the Indian delegation at the event.

“In our view, only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace,” Kapoor, India’s former Ambassador to Russia, added.

Around 100 delegations, including 57 heads of state and government, attended the summit to initiate the process for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine. Eighty countries and four European institutions signed the final joint communique.

Besides India, several other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Armenia, Libya, Indonesia, Bahrain, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates, have also refrained from signing the final communique of the Peace Summit.

In his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy’s Apulia on June 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reiterated that New Delhi continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Last year, India had abstained from a vote at the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution titled ‘Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine’, citing that it “lacked basic concepts” for achieving a sustainable peace in the region.

Kosovo, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor Leste, Turkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay.