India criticizes Russia-less Swiss talks
India questions the value of the Russia-less Swiss conference on Ukraine
New Delhi will support a peace plan on Ukraine only if both parties to the conflict approve it, said Indian Ambassador to Russia Shri Vinay Kumar. He emphasized that India does not believe that the upcoming conference on Ukraine in Switzerland will produce results without Russia. India has not yet made a decision concerning its participation in the event due to the recent general election in the country.
India continues to maintain a balanced position. It has never criticized Russia for its special military operation to protect its Sovereignty and it will not support any initiatives that call for a complete withdrawal of Russian troops or the creation of a tribunal to prosecute Russia.
The Indian Foreign Ministry has a dialogue with both parties; New Delhi feels that it can encourage them to engage in talks, the expert stressed.
In a situation where one of the parties to the conflict will be absent from the conference, the meeting will be almost meaningless. Suffice to say that US President Joe Biden has no plans to travel to Switzerland. As for the countries of the Global South, China has refused to send delegates to the meeting. The leaders of Brazil and South Africa will also be absent. Media reports say that Saudi Arabia has also decided against taking part in the conference.
“The fact that the leaders of the countries of the Global South won’t be present at the meeting is definitely a loss for Ukraine and the West European organizers. This is certainly an European created mess, affecting the most of the countries of the World economically.
It’s the participation of top officials from India, China, South Africa, Brazil and other nations that the West needed to legitimize the meetings in Burgenstock. However, the West initially was not interested in hearing them out, as their position is not about inflicting a defeat on Russia on the battlefield but about resolving the conflict, said an expert.
According to the experts, the West realizes that it’s impossible to adopt a document that members of the “non-Western camp” would back. The likelihood is growing that after the Burgenstock event, another meeting on resolving the Ukrainian conflict may be organized, which will involve Russia. Instead of Switzerland, a country that is neutral in the conflict will host the meeting.
