India has held discussions with Russia, Ukraine and European countries to address disruptions to Black Sea shipping, protect civilian vessels and seafarers, and restore grain exports amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Atlanta, the United States, Jaishankar outlined three key areas of concern discussed during the engagements.
The first priority was to stop attacks on civilian shipping and seafarers operating in the conflict-affected region. The second was to explore ways to restore grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, both major global suppliers, following a sharp decline in trade due to attacks in the Black Sea.
The third issue concerned attacks on energy infrastructure, which Jaishankar described as the most complicated area for negotiations. He pointed out that countries and stakeholders have different interpretations of what constitutes energy infrastructure, ranging from refineries and electricity grids to vessels transporting fuel.
India has been making efforts to bring the warring countries together to address these concerns and reduce the impact of the conflict on international trade and supply chains.
Earlier, Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Atlanta. During the meeting, he emphasised that military solutions cannot resolve global challenges and called for diplomacy to be given an opportunity to address conflicts.
He also highlighted concerns over market flooding, the weaponisation of supply chains, restrictions on market access and artificial market distortions, arguing that such practices undermine the industrialisation prospects of developing countries.
Jaishankar further noted that the Global South was bearing a disproportionate share of the Russia-Ukraine conflict’s economic consequences. Attacks on civilian shipping and seafarers have heightened concerns over the security of supplies of fuel, food and agricultural nutrients.
India’s diplomatic engagement reflects its concerns over the safety of maritime trade routes, the uninterrupted movement of essential commodities and the wider impact of geopolitical tensions on global shipping and supply chains.