India has not yet agreed to Zelensky’s proposal to hold a peace summit,- Bloomberg

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed holding a peace summit in India. He made this proposal during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although Modi has not yet agreed to it.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the negotiations.

According to the agency, Zelensky suggested holding the meeting in November.

“A meeting in India, which is cautious about the Ukrainian initiative as it currently excludes Russia, would be seen as progress in Kyiv,” Bloomberg writes.

However, Modi has not yet given his consent to holding such a summit, the agency clarified, citing sources. In a conversation with the agency, Zelensky’s press secretary, Serhiy Nikiforov, stated that Ukraine is considering holding the next summit in one of the countries of the Global South, particularly in India.

It is worth noting that Modi visited Ukraine on August 23.

“I look forward to continuing previous discussions with President Zelensky on strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” Modi said before his meeting with Zelensky.

Before this, in July, Modi visited Russia. During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi thanked his “dear friend” for the hospitality and mentioned that they had exchanged views on the conflict in Ukraine.

“Take war, any conflict, or terrorist acts—any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, especially when innocent children die,” said the Indian Prime Minister. “As your friend, I always tell you that for the bright future of our future generations, peace is essential,” he told Putin.

After his trip to Kyiv, Modi called Putin.

“We exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and my findings from the recent visit to Ukraine. I reaffirmed India’s strong commitment to supporting a swift, durable, and peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Modi said. The next day, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Modi had not sent any proposals to Moscow regarding peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. “The Indian side consistently takes the position of advocating for a peaceful resolution. This position aligns with our worldview, but it is more than obvious at this point that there are no prerequisites for such negotiations,” Peskov said.

The first peace summit took place in Switzerland on June 15–16, without Russia’s participation. Over 90 countries and eight international organizations took part in it. Zelensky suggested that the results of the summit could be communicated to Russia through intermediaries and that Russia might be invited to a second summit.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not intend to participate in events similar to Ukraine’s peace summits.

“We do not accept such ultimatums and do not intend to participate in such ‘summits’,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin in July.

The goal of the conference is not “to consider options for resolving the conflict in Ukraine,” but “to develop and present Russia with an unacceptable ultimatum,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He emphasized that the “global majority” should not succumb to the pressure of Western countries and should refuse to participate in the “peace summit.”