India is ready to help broker food corridors through the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though New Delhi has not publicly confirmed a specific offer or released a formal plan.

According to reporting by Al Jazeera’s Heba Habib, Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed Russia’s blocking of grain exports during their Monday phone call.

“India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Modi’s public account did not mention the Black Sea or food corridors. He reaffirmed India’s commitment to contributing “in every possible way” to a peaceful resolution. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar later spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, describing their discussion as focused on the war and ongoing diplomatic initiatives.

The exchanges came ahead of U.S.-mediated Russian-Ukrainian talks scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

India’s diplomatic efforts extend beyond grain shipments. Al Jazeera reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described India’s ceasefire proposal as the broadest among several submitted to Kyiv because it covered both Black Sea shipping and energy infrastructure.

Ukraine says it will accept a truce covering those areas only if they are addressed together. Russia has so far rejected partial ceasefires in favour of a comprehensive peace agreement.

The disruption has direct consequences for India, the world’s largest vegetable-oil importer, which buys most of its sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine. India’s foreign ministry said on Nov. 3 that five Indian nationals had been killed in attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and two others were missing.

Securing a corridor would require more than diplomatic agreement. Attacks by both Russia and Ukraine on port infrastructure, along with insurance and inspection arrangements, remain major obstacles, Al Jazeera reported.

The previous United Nations- and Turkiye-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed nearly 33 million tonnes of food to leave three Ukrainian ports before Russia withdrew in 2023. A new arrangement would again depend on cooperation from the warring sides and shipping partners.

Sources