NEW DELHI: Ukraine lobbied for India’s support for a peace summitplanned for summer during a meeting on Friday between foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, who said New Delhi is committed to strengthening the overall bilateral relationship.

India has refrained from publicly criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though it has backed dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward to end the conflict. India has often raised the fallout of the conflict on the prices of food, energy and fertilisers and how this has impacted countries in the Global South.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said he had an “open and wide-ranging” conversation with Kuleba that focused on the “ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications”. Without giving details, he said the two sides exchanged views on “various initiatives in that context”.

The two sides also discussed global and regional issues. “Reiterated our commitment to strengthen the overall relationship, including bilateral cooperation,” Jaishankar said.

Kuleba alluded to the proposed summit figuring in the discussions in a post on X. “We paid specific attention to the Peace Formula and next steps on the path of its implementation,” he said.

A statement from the external affairs ministry said the talks included a comprehensive discussion on the Ukraine conflict and “efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement”. The talks also focused on strengthening ties in areas such as trade, investment, science and technology, defence, agriculture, health and education. Kuleba also met deputy national security adviser Vikram Misri.

The peace summit was initially planned for March but is now expected to be held in the first half of June. Specific dates are yet to be announced and Ukraine has been lobbying key world powers to back the initiative.

Ahead of his meeting with Jaishankar, Kuleba told Hindustan Times during an interaction with a small group of journalists on Thursday evening that Ukraine is looking to India’s participation in the peace summit as this will help convince other countries, especially in the Global South, about the initiative.

“India can take the lead to become the first major non-Western power to openly support the summit on President Zelenskyy’s peace formula. The conversation with Russia can begin one day, and India can be well placed in this process,” Kuleba said.

“If India wants to lead, it has to move. Having India’s confirmation of support for the peace formula will mean having a big player on board. India is a voice that matters to others, especially in the Global South, and it will help to convince them,” he said.

Kuleba added: “India matters and we would like to have it on board. It will add legitimacy to the international efforts and bring other countries on board.”

Kuleba acknowledged the legacy of India’s long-standing ties with Russia and said New Delhi could pick one or two topics from Zelenskyy’s 10-point formula, “possibly the return of children and the prisoners of war as well as energy security”.

This formula envisages the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, withdrawal of Russian troops, formal confirmation of the end of the war, and radiation and nuclear safety, especially in the context of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Since last year, four meetings of senior officials from dozens of countries have been held on Zelenskyy’s peace formula in Copenhagen, Jeddah, Malta and Davos. India has sent middle-ranking diplomats or the deputy national security adviser to most of these meetings. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was the senior-most Indian official to participate in these meetings when he attended a gathering hosted by Saudi Arabia last August.

The Swiss side has invited India to the peace summit though New Delhi is yet to take a call on the level of its participation, people familiar with the matter said.

Jaishankar and Kuleba also co-chaired a review meeting of the bilateral inter-governmental commission, which last met in 2018. In a separate post on X, Jaishankar noted the importance of strengthening cooperation in all domains. “Our immediate goal is to get trade back to earlier levels. Perspectives on trade, health, [science and technology] and agriculture cooperation shared today were useful,” he said.

Both sides agreed to prepare for the seventh meeting of the inter-governmental commission later this year, Jaishankar said.