While the world’s attention turned to Anchorage, Alaska, where US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a three-hour closed-door summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed unease about Ukraine’s absence from the negotiations.
Zelenskyy stressed that no peace agreement should be made without Ukraine’s direct participation, warning that its sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain non-negotiable. “Our nations share the experience of standing up for freedom and dignity, as well as the pursuit of peace and development,” he wrote.
Just hours before the Trump-Putin talks began, Zelenskyy reached out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Independence Day greetings. In his message, he referenced their recent phone call earlier in the week and urged India to step forward as a peace facilitator.
“We hope that India will contribute to efforts aimed at ending the war, so that our freedom and sovereignty are truly secure,” Zelenskyy stated, calling the conflict a struggle for “freedom and dignity.”
Congratulations to the people of India, President @rashtrapatibhvn, and Prime Minister @narendramodi on the Independence Day!
This week we had a good, candid conversation with Prime Minister @narendramodi when I had an opportunity to personally convey my best wishes on this…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 15, 2025
The Ukrainian leader’s outreach to New Delhi comes at a time when India has maintained a delicate balance in its relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, positioning itself as a potential mediator in the nearly four-year-old war.
European leaders, along with Zelenskyy, have voiced apprehension about what concessions Trump might be willing to entertain during his talks with Putin. Earlier this week, Trump held a virtual meeting with Zelenskyy and several European heads of state, assuring them that he would advocate for an unconditional ceasefire.
According to European diplomatic sources cited by CNN, Trump told the meeting that territorial questions concerning Ukraine were “not for him to negotiate.”
In the lead-up to the summit, Zelenskyy also spoke with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to align strategies. While he acknowledged that the Alaska meeting was symbolically advantageous for Putin, Zelenskyy expressed cautious hope for progress.
India’s growing stature on the global stage and its diplomatic ties with both Russia and the West make it a unique candidate to influence the course of negotiations. For Zelenskyy, the timing of his appeal to Prime Minister Modi was both symbolic and strategic, framing India as a moral partner in the fight for sovereignty and peace.
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