WILL MODI APPLY THE LESSON LEARNT FROM KOREA IN UKRAINE?

Speculation around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's possible visit to Ukraine raises questions about India's role in mediating peace between Russia and Ukraine. Drawing from its experience during the Korean War, India may seek to leverage its strategic neutrality to foster dialogue in a conflict where China and Turkey have also shown interest, opines PRAKASH NANDA.

- PRAKASH NANDA

Is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi going to visit Ukraine in the last week of this month?

If he is visiting, is that part of a mission to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, something India had done quite admirably during the Korean War by bringing about an Armistice Agreement between South Korea supported by the United States and North Korea backed by Communist China and the then Soviet Union?

If India under Modi is really serious about mediating between the two warring nations of Russia and Ukraine, something China and Turkey have also been attempting, does New Delhi have better global credibility and support than Beijing and Ankara for the job?

Let us attempt answering these three questions, one by one

First, Modi's scheduled visit to Ukraine has not been officially announced as one writes this. But the very fact that it has been widely reported over the last two days without inviting any denial by the Modi-government means that the news is credible. Apparently, one such report says that the Indian Prime Minister will leave for Ukraine on August 23.

Coming to the second question, since Modi's date has not been officially announced, it is difficult to say about his exact agenda, something that is usually disclosed by senior foreign ministry officials in select briefings to the press on the eve of the Prime Minister's foreign trips.

However, what is unmistakable is that Modi's very visit to Ukraine would go a long way in assuaging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hurt feelings over his trip to Moscow last month to resume the India-Russia summit, an annual feature since 2000 but suspended for two years (2022, 2023).