India has exchanged ideas with Russia and Ukraine on opening “food corridors” to facilitate grain exports from Black Sea ports as part of a broader ceasefire proposal and is working with other stakeholders for the return of peace in the region, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday.
The conversation was followed by a phone call between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. “On the issue of food corridors, we have exchanged ideas with both sides. Jaiswal’s remarks marked the first acknowledgement from the Indian side about the work on food corridors.
The move is also in line with India’s efforts to protect the interests of the countries of the Global South, which have been hit by food, fuel and fertiliser shortages since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s three-part ceasefire proposal focused on the safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea, energy and grain exports and stopping attacks on infrastructure, and told a regular media briefing that the Indian side has formally taken up the issue of food corridors with Russia and Ukraine. India remains in touch with both sides, as well as with interested parties, to contribute towards the return of peace to the region,” he said without going into details. Zelensky, in his conversation with Modi on Monday, said India should “identify what steps it can take and what dialogue it can pursue with other leaders to help bring the war to an end”. He proposed food security as an area where India can contribute at a time when Russia is “blocking” grain exports via the Black Sea. “India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue,” Zelensky said.
During a phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that India can take the lead in ensuring uninterrupted food supplies through the Black Sea by mediating the establishment of food corridors.
