00:00Then when we talk of problems, we also talk of solutions and there is an attempt to find a solution
00:04when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war.
00:08While they've had intense bombardment and drone strikes and attacks that have taken place between Russia and Kiev, Russia targeting
00:16multiple cities in Kiev and Kiev targeting multiple oil refineries in Russia, there is an effort to find peace and
00:23India has a role to play.
00:25Of course, these efforts right now are in the UAE. These are U.S. broker talks that are happening between
00:31Russia and Ukraine.
00:33President Zelensky has hinted that it's moving in the right direction in the past conversations.
00:39He has hinted that if there are guarantees that Ukraine will not be targeted, they can talk about moving forward.
00:47Russia, of course, wants to know for sure they will not be targeted and that NATO forces will not be
00:56in Ukraine.
00:57That's their red line. And the territory that they have in their control will remain in their control for now.
01:04Is that acceptable? There are baby steps that are being taken towards finding peace in the UAE.
01:10Listen in to what Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, had to say about it.
01:15I'll get you more on the story.
01:18I'm very happy with what I hear. We will see what can be done.
01:23And I was, from the very beginning, with Steve and with Jared, I was very, very clear with them that
01:32this is not my, how to say it,
01:38this is a country of our nation. It's not real estate. And that's why I, all these topics are very
01:46sensitive.
01:46It's not the topic of the land, it's not about square kilometers, or not only about square kilometers, we speak
01:52about different things, which are very, very sensitive for the people, not for me.
01:58It's been very good speaking with everyone. We've had daily conversations with both sides.
02:03I think we've really identified, narrowed the gaps as to what we can get through.
02:09And I think we have some good ideas on how to bridge it.
02:12And hopefully today we'll be able to have an open, frank, and fulsome dialogue for things tomorrow to try to
02:17further make progress.
02:21I want to quickly bring in Sandeep Unnithan for more on this. Sandeep, where are peace talks right now?
02:28And are we hoping, against hope, that it will finally lead to peace?
02:35Well, absolutely, Gaurav. You know, given the fact that the Russia-Ukraine war is going to enter its fifth year,
02:40just a few months from now,
02:41it's going to be one of the longest wars and the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century.
02:46And given the fact that India has tremendous stakes in ending this conflict,
02:52it's no surprise to many that India chose to now step up and play a very active role in the
02:58mediation.
02:58And while we were quite reticent in the beginning, but off late in the last couple of months,
03:04India has, you know, decided to step up and, you know, kind of play peacemaker.
03:10It has given a peace proposal ahead of these talks.
03:13There is talk of a food corridor that India has proposed,
03:18where, you know, grain exports can be, grain can be exported out of Russia and Ukraine without being attacked and
03:25targeted.
03:25And, of course, energy supplies are not attacked.
03:28So, this is to ensure that there is a stability to this current conflict.
03:32And both sides can sit down together and negotiate, you know, a peace process.
03:36The fact is that, Gaurav, this is one conflict where Indian nationals have been caught in the crossfire.
03:42In the early days of the conflict, you had Indian students who were stranded in Ukraine
03:46and were brought back under very extraordinary circumstances by the government of India in 2022.
03:52And now you have this prospect of Indian seafarers being caught in the line of fire in the Black Sea
03:58shipping lanes
03:59where, you know, India has voiced its concern, you know, at several occasions.
04:04So, this is one more chance for us to, you know, play peacemaker
04:10and hope that these talks which are underway, very critical talks, you know, that they can lead to this end
04:17to a conflict
04:18that has been, you know, nearly five years on.
04:22And the world economy is literally being taken by this.
04:25So, if we were to talk about the nuts and bolts of this, Sandeep,
04:28because I was on ground covering this conflict in Ukraine when those tombs were extracted
04:33and that safe corridor was found and, of course, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled both to Russia
04:39and to Ukraine in an effort, one, food corridor, two, fertilizer corridor, extremely important,
04:45not just for farmers of India, but for farmers of the global south.
04:50Now, the big question is, Sandeep, are both sides very serious that Ukraine is okay with losing almost 20%
04:57of their territory, Sandeep?
04:59That's the biggest sticking point, Gaurav.
05:01You know, there can be no settlement without that question of territory.
05:06I mean, 20% of, you know, Ukraine's territory is a large, large, you know, amount of territory.
05:13And there is no way that Ukraine can recapture that kind of territory without, you know,
05:18given the stalemate that the war is at currently.
05:21And, you know, Russia is not going to give up that territory that it has spent blood and treasure over
05:26the last four years
05:27capturing.
05:28So that is literally the, you know, the crux of the issue.
05:32How will you, you know, negotiate an end to this kind of a conflict where one side is occupied 20
05:40% of another country's, you know, area?
05:43And that is literally at the heart of this issue.
05:47And the fact is that every country has tried, the United States has also tried to play peacemaker,
05:52but that question of the territory, that's literally the elephant in the room, Gaurav.
05:59Okay, in fact, that's the big issue.
06:03U.S. at one point of time trying to play a peacemaker and yet supplying missiles,
06:07patriot missiles to Ukraine or Europe arming Ukraine against Russia.
06:11Is that the best way peace can be found?
06:14Or everyone puts their head together and try and find a peaceful resolution.
06:19Right now, that effort is being made in the UAE.
06:21And we're tracking that story very closely.
