India advances 3-part Russia-Ukraine proposal on Black Sea flows

India has advanced a three-part proposal to limit fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, Prokerala reported on Oct. 18, citing an Open magazine report by former diplomat Harsh V. Pant.

The initiative matters because it targets energy facilities, grain exports and commercial shipping, sectors where disruption can affect countries beyond Russia and Ukraine; Pant said it sits among four international proposals.

According to the report, India’s proposal calls for a mutual pause in attacks on energy sites and other infrastructure, continued movement of energy supplies and grain through Black Sea ports, and an end to attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

“Rather than attempting to broker a comprehensive political settlement to a war that has repeatedly defied diplomatic intervention, New Delhi appears to be pursuing a more attainable objective: limiting the conflict’s disruptive consequences for energy security, food supplies, and maritime commerce,” Pant wrote, according to Prokerala.

Pant wrote that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reportedly described India’s proposal as the “most comprehensive” of four initiatives, with the others coming from Turkey, Egypt and the US. The proposal was conveyed during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Kyiv in September, the report said.

India has consistently called for negotiations since the war began. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand in 2022 that “this is not an era of war,” a line the report cited as part of New Delhi’s effort to maintain strategic autonomy while urging diplomacy.

The report said India is not seeking the role of formal mediator.

Prokerala reported that Russia and Ukraine had acknowledged India’s efforts, and said Putin had appreciated Modi’s proposals while the Kremlin praised New Delhi’s willingness to contribute. Jaishankar met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Sybiha during the September visit, according to the report.

Source: news article, Prokerala, Oct. 18, citing Open magazine.