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PIB India<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Ukraine on Friday to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The trip comes just weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.<\/p>\n The visit is significant because Kyiv and some Western capitals had reacted sharply to Mr Modi\u2019s visit to the Russian capital<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n Mr Zelensky was particularly critical, saying he was \u201cdisappointed to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow\u201d.<\/p>\n So, is Mr Modi visiting Kyiv to placate Mr Zelensky and other Western leaders?<\/p>\n Not entirely.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not surprising to see India balance its relations between two competing nations or blocs. The country\u2019s famed non-alignment approach to geopolitics has served it well for decades.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Friday’s visit – the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine – is more about signalling that while India will continue to have strong relations with Russia, it will still work closely with the West.<\/p>\n Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre think-tank in Washington, says the trip will further reassert India\u2019s strategic autonomy.<\/p>\n \u201cIndia isn\u2019t in the business of placating Western powers, or anyone for that matter. It\u2019s a trip meant to advance Indian interests, by reasserting friendship with Kyiv and conveying its concerns about the continuing war,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n However, the timing of the visit does reflect that Indian diplomats have taken onboard the sharp reactions from the US to Mr Modi’s Moscow visit. <\/p>\n India has refrained from directly criticising Russia<\/a> over the war, much to the annoyance of Western powers.<\/p>\n Delhi, however, has often spoken about the importance of respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations. It has continuously pushed for diplomacy and dialogue to end the war.<\/p>\n Mr Modi\u2019s Moscow visit in July came hours after Russian bombing killed at least 41 people in Ukraine, including at a children’s hospital in Kyiv, sparking a global outcry.<\/p>\n The Indian PM said the death of children was painful and terrifying but stopped short of blaming Russia.<\/p>\n Mr Modi is not likely to deviate from this stance during his visit to Kyiv. The US and other Western nations have grown to accept Delhi\u2019s stand, given India\u2019s time-tested relationship with Moscow and its reliance on Russian military equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n India, the world\u2019s largest importer of arms, has diversified its defence import portfolio and also grown domestic manufacturing in recent years but it still buys more than 50% of its defence equipment from Russia.<\/p>\n India has also increased its oil imports from Russia, taking advantage of cheaper prices offered by Moscow – Russia was the top oil supplier to India last year.<\/p>\n The US and its allies have often implored India to take a clearer stand on the war but they have also refrained from applying harsh sanctions or pressure.<\/p>\n The West also sees India as a counterbalance to China and doesn\u2019t want to upset that dynamic. India, now the fifth largest economy in the world, is also a growing market for business.<\/p>\n Mr Kugelman says the West will welcome the visit and see it as Delhi\u2019s willingness to engage with all sides.<\/p>\n \u201cMr Modi has a strong incentive to signal that it\u2019s not leaning so close to Moscow that there\u2019s nothing to salvage with Kyiv,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This is important because India wants to keep growing its relations with the West, particularly with the US, and wouldn’t want to upset the momentum. Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, recently said the relationship should not be “taken for granted”.<\/p>\n India also needs the West as China, its Asian rival, and Russia have forged close ties in recent years.<\/p>\n While Delhi has long viewed Moscow as a power that can put pressure on an assertive China when needed, it can’t be taken for granted. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, many media commentators have spoken about the possibility of Mr Modi positioning himself as a peacemaker, given India\u2019s close relations with both Moscow and the West.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s unlikely that he will turn up with a peace plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIs India really up to it, and are the conditions right? India doesn\u2019t like other countries trying to mediate in its own issues, chief among them Kashmir. And I don\u2019t think Mr Modi would formally offer mediation unless both Russia and Ukraine want it. And at this point, I don\u2019t think they do,\u201d Mr Kugelman adds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ukraine, however, will still welcome Mr Modi\u2019s visit and see it as an opportunity to engage with a close ally of Moscow, something it hasn\u2019t done much since the war began.<\/p>\n Mr Zelensky, though, is unlikely to hold back his criticism of Mr Putin in front of the Indian PM. Mr Modi can live with that as he has faced such situations many times in other Western capitals.<\/p>\n Moscow is not likely to react to the visit as it has also been making concessions for Delhi\u2019s multilateral approach to geopolitics.<\/p>\n But beyond reasserting its non-alignment policy, Delhi also has bigger goals from this visit.<\/p>\n India has been ramping up engagement with Europe in the past decade, particularly with the underserved regions in Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n Delhi wants to keep consolidating its relations with the big four – the UK, Italy, Germany and France – but also wants to boost engagement with other countries in Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mr Modi is also visiting Poland on this trip – the first Indian PM to visit the country in 45 years. He also became the first Indian prime minister to visit Austria in 41 years in July.<\/p>\n Analysts say that this signals India\u2019s growing understanding that Central European nations will play a bigger role in geopolitics in the future and strong relations with them will serve Delhi well.<\/p>\n The Indian government has also revived trade deal negotiations with Europe. It has signed a trade and investment deal with the European Free Trade Association, which is the intergovernmental organisation of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.<\/p>\n So, while there will be a lot of focus on the war during his visit, Indian diplomats are likely to stay focused on the bigger goal.<\/p>\n \u201cCentral and Eastern Europe now have greater agency in writing their own destiny and reshaping regional geopolitics. Mr Modi\u2019s visit to Warsaw and Kyiv is about recognising that momentous change at the heart of Europe and deepening bilateral political, economic and security ties with the Central European states,\u201d foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan wrote in the Indian Express<\/a> newspaper, summing up Mr Modi\u2019s wider goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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