Introduction
On 23 August 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukraine for about 8 hours. This visit was followed internationally with an expectation that it may help carve out a move towards peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The expectation was not unjustified, as Mr. Modi is one of the few international figures who have met both Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine since the war erupted in February 2022. Modi’s visit to Moscow in July 2024 was met with harsh criticism from the Western camp. This Issue Brief attempts to analyze the motivations behind Modi’s visit to Kyiv and its outcomes with a particular reference to the question that whether it carried a sincere peace effort between the warring parties or was a mere balancing act to reassure the U.S. and its Western allies of New Delhi’s alignment with their overall approach.
