NEW DELHI: India is actively working through diplomatic channels to pursue peaceful solutions to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said.

During an engagement with the Indian community in Brisbane, Australia, Jaishankar discussed the global concern sparked by these conflicts. In response to an audience question, he said, “In different ways, we are trying to do something in both.”

Jaishankar highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s active diplomatic engagement, talking about his visits to Russia in July and Ukraine in August.

Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June, and they spoke again in September. Modi also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan in October. “It is a situation which does call for some degree of...proactive diplomacy. We are trying to do that,” Jaishankar said.

He added, “We feel that the rest of the world should not throw up its hands and say, ‘Ok, let’s wait for them to slug it out and one day they’ll get tired and something will happen.’ Because every day there is a cost to the world, apart from the cost to these countries and to the region.”

Addressing early scepticism regarding India’s involvement, Jaishankar said the perspective has shifted, especially among Western nations, with strong support also coming from the Global South. “We are hoping that through multiple conversations, we are able to create some common ground so that some beginnings of diplomacy can resume,” he stated.

Regarding West Asia, Jaishankar explained, “Here one of the gaps is the inability of Iran and Israel to talk to each other directly. So different countries are trying to see if they can bridge that gap, we happen to be one of them.”