India Meets Russia, Ukraine, as It Seeks to Restore Black Sea Shipping, End War

India is holding talks with Russia and Ukraine on restoring safe navigation in the Black Sea as New Delhi seeks to facilitate grain and energy exports, and to take a more active role in efforts end the war, according to reports.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi had moved beyond publicly calling for peace and had begun direct discussions with both sides, Bloomberg reported on Monday, Oct. 5.

“We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard. We are trying to be helpful, starting with the Black Sea safety of shipping issue,” Jaishankar said.

He added that the ongoing discussions also cover grain and energy exports and what he described as “non-attack possibilities.”

Jaishankar made the remarks during the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi on Sunday.

“We have been advocating it for many years, and in recent months we have got a little bit more involved beyond advocacy,” he said.

The minister did not disclose the specific proposals under consideration, a potential timetable or whether Moscow and Kyiv were close to reaching any agreement.

India seeks larger diplomatic role

Jaishankar’s remarks represent one of New Delhi’s clearest public acknowledgments that it is directly engaging both sides in efforts to negotiate limited arrangements related to the war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha recently said Kyiv had received proposals from India, the US, Turkey and Egypt concerning a possible ceasefire.

Sybiha described India’s proposal as the most comprehensive and said it addressed attacks on energy and port infrastructure, Black Sea security and a potential ceasefire along the front line.

India has maintained close economic and defense ties with Russia throughout the full-scale invasion. It has increased purchases of Russian oil, abstained from several United Nations votes condemning Moscow and avoided directly criticizing the Kremlin.

At the same time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly called for dialogue. During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan in late August, Modi urged countries to resolve disputes through peaceful means.

India and Russia nevertheless pledged to deepen their economic relationship when Modi and Putin met again during the BRICS summit in September.

Attacks threaten Black Sea food exports

India’s initiative comes as attacks on ports, grain terminals and commercial vessels have severely disrupted Black Sea shipping.

Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports and roughly two-thirds of international sunflower oil trade. The disruption has pushed wheat prices to three-year highs and forced importers to seek more expensive suppliers.

Ukraine’s Odesa-area ports normally handle approximately 90 percent of the country’s grain exports, but repeated Russian missile and drone attacks have damaged port infrastructure and discouraged ships from entering the region.

A Russian strike on a Liberian-flagged civilian cargo vessel in an Odesa region port on Saturday killed one crew member and injured three others.

Ukraine’s ports association has said hundreds of vessels have been damaged during Russia’s campaign against Ukrainian maritime infrastructure, warning that the disruption threatens both Ukraine’s economy and global food supplies.

Jaishankar did not say whether India was seeking to revive an arrangement similar to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukrainian food exports to pass through a monitored maritime corridor until Russia withdrew from the agreement in July 2023.