India's Position on the Ukraine Conflict: Dialogue Over Force, Safe Shipping, Grain and Energy Security
India's External Affairs Minister restated that there is "no military solution" to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that it must be ended through dialogue and diplomacy.
He said India had conveyed this message to Russia at the highest level, at the India-Russia talks in New Delhi (the 23rd Annual Summit, 4–5 December 2025) and in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (on the sidelines of the SCO summit, 31 August 2026).
India listed its main concerns: the safety of civilian (merchant) shipping, the restoration of grain exports from the Black Sea region, and energy security, because the conflict has disrupted global supplies of food, fertiliser and fuel.
The minister also held meetings with his counterparts from Russia, Poland and South Korea on bilateral and global issues.
Strategic Autonomy: India's Foreign Policy Doctrine
Strategic autonomy means India makes its own foreign policy choices based on its own national interest. It does not join any military bloc or let one big power decide its positions. It grew out of the Non-Aligned Movement of the Cold War years and today means keeping good ties with many sides at once ("multi-alignment").
Talking to Russia about ending the war while keeping close ties with it, and meeting Poland (a strong supporter of Ukraine) in the same visit, shows strategic autonomy at work. India speaks to all sides and presents itself as a voice for peace and for the food and fuel concerns of the Global South.
Black Sea Grain Initiative (2022)
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was a deal that let Ukraine export grain, other food and fertiliser by sea during the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine and Russia are both major grain exporters, and the war had blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports, pushing up world food prices. The deal was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye.
When India calls for "restoring grain exports" and "protecting civilian shipping", it is asking for safe sea trade of the kind the Black Sea Grain Initiative once provided. Such a deal lowers world food and fertiliser prices, which matters greatly to poorer importing countries.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a regional group of ten Eurasian countries that work together on security, trade and connectivity. It started as the "Shanghai Five" in 1996 and became the SCO on 15 June 2001. It is a key forum where India meets Russia, China and the Central Asian states at the top level.
The Bishkek SCO summit gave India a chance to convey its message on Ukraine directly to Russia's leader. Summit "sidelines" meetings like this are a common channel for such sensitive talks.
- India's stated position: no military solution; dialogue and diplomacy; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity
- 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit: New Delhi, 4–5 December 2025
- 26th SCO summit: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 31 August–1 September 2026
- "Not an era of war": SCO summit, Samarkand, 16 September 2022
- Indian PM visit to Kyiv: 23 August 2024
- Black Sea Grain Initiative: signed 22 July 2022 (Istanbul); Russia exited 17 July 2023; about 32.9 million tonnes exported
- SCO: founded 15 June 2001; 10 members; India full member since 2017; RATS in Tashkent