India in continuous touch with Russia, Ukraine to explore ways to end conflict: Jaishankar
S Jaishankar meets Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw. Image courtesy: @DrSJaishankar
New Delhi: India remains in continuous contact with both Russia and Ukraine and is exploring whether ideas and suggestions can be developed to help mitigate and, ideally, end the conflict, the external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, said in Warsaw on Friday. He made the remarks after talks with Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, a day after meeting the Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv.
India exploring ideas to help end conflict
Responding to a question after his talks with Sikorski, Jaishankar said India was in “continuous touch” with the Russian and Ukrainian sides and was trying to determine whether ideas and suggestions could contribute to mitigating and ideally ending the conflict.
He reiterated India’s position that a resolution would ultimately have to come through dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation. “Endless war must give way to an end to war,” Jaishankar said, adding that prolonged conflicts produced no winners and imposed growing human and economic costs.
His remarks stopped short of announcing a formal Indian mediation initiative. Instead, they reflected India’s stated willingness to contribute if its contacts with Moscow and Kyiv could help create space for negotiations.
Jaishankar, Sikorski discuss regional situation
The situation in Ukraine was among the major regional and global issues discussed during Jaishankar’s talks with Sikorski. Jaishankar noted during the press interaction that he had arrived in Warsaw directly from Kyiv, where he held talks with the Ukrainian leadership a day earlier.
In Kyiv, Jaishankar met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha. The Ukrainian president’s office said the discussions covered peace efforts, security issues and bilateral cooperation.
India-Poland ties gain wider strategic focus
Alongside regional issues, Jaishankar and Sikorski reviewed progress under the India-Poland Joint Action Plan 2024-28, adopted after the two countries elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership during a visit to Warsaw by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, in 2024.
The talks covered trade and investment, defence, space, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, education, shipping, mining and energy, people-to-people ties and multilateral cooperation.
Jaishankar said the two governments were also working on agreements in cybersecurity, space, clean coal technologies, critical minerals and protection of classified information.
Poland is India’s largest trading and investment partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Bilateral trade reached $6.36 billion in 2025, according to the Indian Embassy in Warsaw.
Jaishankar also linked the bilateral economic relationship to India’s wider engagement with the European Union, saying the India-EU free trade agreement could create additional opportunities for Poland once it comes into force.
The latest remarks in Warsaw therefore placed India’s ongoing contacts with Moscow and Kyiv alongside a broader diplomatic engagement with Poland, while keeping New Delhi’s position centred on dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation.
