Two days after the Swiss government announced plans to host a high-level summit on Ukraine, India on Friday said it remains open to all ideas that could help achieve early restoration of peace in that country.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has been consistently pressing for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through diplomacy and dialogue. The Swiss government on Wednesday said it will host an international summit in June to help bring peace in Ukraine after more than two years of war.
“We have consistently maintained that we encourage a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy,” Jaiswal said when asked about the announcement by Switzerland. “In this spirit, we have also participated in several mechanisms under Ukraine’s peace formula including the Copenhagen format,” he said.
“We remain open to exploring all ideas that could help achieve early restoration of peace,” Jaiswal said.
The conference is set to be held at Burgenstock resort near Luzern on June 15-16.
Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has put forward a 10-point “peace plan” for ending the conflict that included punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from Ukraine, and restoring his country’s territorial integrity.
Under the plan, he also called for ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety. India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
In May last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-person talks with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. In the talks, the prime minister conveyed to the Ukranian leader that India will do whatever is possible to find a solution to the conflict.
Asked about reports of slashing of Indian staffers at the Canadian high commission in Delhi, Jaiswal did not give a direct reply. “It is an administrative matter, and you must speak to the Canadian side on what the reason is behind it. As we understand, their visa processing is normal,” he said.