PM Modi can discuss Ukraine conflict with President Putin, says foreign affairs expert ahead of BRICS Summit

Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for the BRICS summit is important, because he will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and can share his insights on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin from October 22-23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

Notably, PM Modi visited Russia in June, right after taking office for the third time. Following that, he also visited Ukraine the following month.

India has emphasised the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace in the Ukraine conflict that started in February 2022.

India has also expressed its willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace.

Speaking to ANI, Sachdev said, “Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the BRICS summit can turn out to be something very interesting. One, of course, the PM will be participating in the BRICS platform, wherein all BRICS countries are there. The various agendas of BRICS countries will be discussed. But apart from that, there are two bilaterals, which are very interesting to see.”

“One will be a bilateral with President Putin, which most probably will happen. That bilateral is extremely important because Prime Minister Modi met Putin immediately after getting re-elected for his third term. And Prime Minister has proposed that India will play a proactive role in the Ukraine conflict. After meeting Putin, President Modi went and met Zelenskyy,” he said.

Sachdev said that as this meeting between Putin and PM Modi is after his meeting with Ukraine President Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden, he might be able to share insights with Putin on the discussions he had, and can suggest a “viable middle path.”

“Prime Minister has completed a circle of meeting other world leaders, and now back to Putin. So this will be a time, when Putin and PM Modi will discuss a Ukraine formula, whereas India is in a situation to push it. So that’s what will be the most important bilateral. We may not know whatever discussions are held, decision that it is going to and it is playing a very proactive role in helping to resolve the Ukraine conflict. So, the next step on that, India is right now exploring the potential, views of different parties concerned. So I think this will be an occasion for Prime Minister Modi to share with Putin what feedback Prime Minister Modi has been able to get, what he thinks can be a viable middle path for, a pause in the Ukraine conflict. It may be too early, but this will be a step towards that,” he said.

Being asked about any possible meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sachdev said that if the meeting happens, it will mean the ties are getting back on track, and if not, then it means ties remain frozen.

“The other bilateral, which may happen or may not happen, on which, a lot of eyes are looking at that, would be a bilateral between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping of China. If that bilateral happens, then it certainly means that China-India relations are somewhat starting to get back on track. If that bilateral does not happen, then means that China-India relations will continue to in a certain frozen conflict, one could say, for the time to come,” he said.

He further said that the West and NATO would keep a close eye on the BRICS Summit as it is emerging as a counter to them, with Russia and Iran — two adversaries of US — being the members of the bloc. He added that India can play a role in briding the divide between the BRICS and the West.

“The West and the NATO will definitely be keeping a very close eye on this visit by Prime Minister Modi and the BRICS for two reasons. One, BRICS, though not an anti-West bloc, but it definitely has countries which are in the anti-West bloc, especially Russia and Iran. Both have sanctions on them. So the steps that BRICS take will be observed closely by NATO as to another power centre growing and emerging, challenging the West. India plays and can play a role in bridging between the West and BRICS,” he said.

Speaking about the India-Canada row, Sachdev said that Canadian President Justin Trudeau is using the Nijjar case to distract his public from his domestic failures and allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections.

“So Trudeau’s foreign policy has been an unfortunately an absolute failure. And there are conflicts in that policy. What Trudeau is now doing is to deflect attention from his failures in preventing China from interfering in Canada. He is creating the bogey of India, the Nijjar case. It’s a minor matter, it would have been a minor matter, both governments would have sorted it out, I think, very easily. But what Trudeau did, he took a conscious decision to amplify the Nijjar case in order to deflect attention, distract attention from his own failures on China Gate, that is China’s interferences in Canadian democracy,” the expert said.

“China interfered in Canada’s elections and democracy. He wanted to show himself as a strong leader because China Gate and China influence has shown he’s not a strong leader. He was sleeping on the job or he was incompetent. In order to counter that impression within his own country, he thought to project the image of a strong leader and took the case of India and made India a target for his own failures,” he added.

The Foreign Affairs expert further said that the US is “very much involved” in the case, as the US and Canada, along with three other nations, share intelligence among themselves under the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance.

“US is very much involved in this matter. Especially because Canada, America, England, New Zealand and Australia are five countries. The intelligence agencies of these five countries share all the information with each other. The US is closely observing the case. If Canada has evidence, then it will be a little more difficult for America as well. Because issue of Canada, that it is claiming that the rule of law of their country has been disrupted by a foreign country, in that matter, according to morality, America will have to stand with Canada. But America does not want to because America is so strategic, it is interested in its relations with India. So America does not want to mess up relations with India. So that is why America is still on the sidelines to some extent,” Sachdev further said.

The BRICS Summit in Kazan is being held under the chairmanship of Russia, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). During his visit, PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders in Kazan.

It will be PM Narendra Modi’s second visit to Russia in 2024 as he travelled to Moscow in July to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. During his visit to Russia, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.