India ready to mediate Black Sea food corridors, Zelenskyy says after Modi call

India is ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine to set up "food corridors" for Black Sea exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a telephone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Hindu reported.

The call came just before Ukraine-Russia peace talks due to begin in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. According to The Hindu, negotiators for US President Donald Trump, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, will resume talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives after a three-month gap. They will discuss the security guarantees needed for a possible ceasefire.

India's Ministry of External Affairs said Mr Modi "reiterated India's consistent position that the conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy". It said he had conveyed India's readiness to contribute to all efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the war, which is now nearly five years old.

In a social media post, Mr Zelenskyy said he had briefed Mr Modi on the latest developments. He said Mr Modi had told Russian President Vladimir Putin the war must end, and that Russia had to understand that the "global economy and hundreds of millions of people around the world are suffering because of blocked sea routes". He also asked India to set out its peace proposal more clearly. "Food security could be one such area," he wrote. "India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue."

Within a couple of hours, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar posted that he had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said the conversation "focused on the Ukraine conflict and ongoing diplomatic initiatives". The Hindu called the two calls the clearest sign so far of the go-between role New Delhi is now playing between Moscow and Kyiv.

Mr Jaishankar first disclosed India's proposals during a visit to Poland and Ukraine in September, the paper reported. On October 22, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was visiting Delhi, Indian officials said they had sent both governments a "four-point proposal". It would stop attacks on civilians and allow grain and energy exports from both countries through the Black Sea. It would also end the targeting of ships and seafarers, many of whom are Indian nationals.

NDTV, which carried only a short summary, reported that the two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation and agreed to strengthen ties between India and Ukraine.

The Hindu said it was not yet clear whether India would join the talks already under way with the US and the UAE, or whether it would seek a larger role in mediating or hosting them later. Mr Modi and Mr Trump are expected to meet a week from now on the sidelines of ASEAN-linked summits in Manila. Later this month Mr Trump is expected at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, which Mr Putin is also expected to attend.

Sources: The Hindu, Ahead of Abu Dhabi peace talks, Modi speaks to Zelenskyy; Jaishankar speaks to Lavrov; NDTV, PM Modi, Zelensky Discuss Bilateral Ties, Peace Efforts In Russia War.