India is going ‘beyond advocacy’ on the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Sunday (October 4, 2026) that India is going “beyond advocacy” on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on Black sea safety, and grain export agreements. Talking on India’s stand on the conflict, he said, “Our position on that conflict has been very clear, which is that we would like to see an end to this conflict, and we believe that this will require dialogue and diplomacy. There has to be negotiations in this regard. We have been advocating it for many years, and in recent months we have got a little bit more involved beyond advocacy.”

Mr. Jaishankar was delivering a speech on “From New Delhi to New Momentum: Opportunities for Emerging and Middle Power Cooperation” at the Munich Leaders Meeting in Delhi on Sunday (October 4, 2026).

He said, “we have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard. We are trying to be helpful, starting with the Black Sea safety of shipping issue, but going beyond that to cover some immediate concerns which both of them have on grain exports, on energy exports, on non-attack possibilities. So those are ongoing conversations right now.”

Commenting on ties with Russia, Mr. Jaishankar said, “For us, Russia and Soviet Union before that was a country that stood by us in many ways when our security, when our territorial integrity was under threat, and at a time when you know much of the world preferred backing a military regime next to us.”

He added that Russia was a country with which India’s interests aligned. “We are obviously shaped in many ways by our legacy”, said Mr. Jaishankar

Mr. Jaishankar said the government seeks a restoration of uninterrupted flows of energy, trade, and mobility, noting that India is paying the price in many ways for distant conflicts in which it has no stake.

He further said, “The change in the global landscape is underpinned by the changes in the U.S.’s attitude to the world and the rise of China, as well as the weaponisation of every leverage.”