India is one of Russia’s biggest energy buyers. Can it also help broker peace with Ukraine?

India is beginning to take a more active role in efforts to reach a settlement between Russia and Ukraine, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said. Bloomberg reported that his explicit statement signals New Delhi’s shift toward a more active stance after years of caution over the war, driven partly by its close economic ties with Russia.

Speaking at a Munich Security Conference meeting held away from its usual venue, Jaishankar said India had become “a little bit more involved” in the peace process in recent months. He said New Delhi is now in talks with both Russia and Ukraine:

Jaishankar gave no details about the progress of the talks. He also said India sees Russia, as the Soviet Union’s successor, as a partner that has traditionally helped it in its conflict with Pakistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed the war twice in meetings with Vladimir Putin over the past few weeks — first at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, then at the BRICS summit in New Delhi. After the latest meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Modi had “actively offered his good offices” to help secure a peaceful settlement.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on October 1 that four international mediators, including India, had put forward proposals for a peaceful settlement. “We have four proposals. India’s is the most comprehensive. For the first time, India has offered to play a role,” Sybiha said. He did not specify what India’s proposals involved.

India and China are currently the biggest buyers of Russian energy, and Russian energy’s share of India’s imports has risen sharply since the war began. The U.S. has repeatedly pressured India to stop buying Russian oil in exchange for lifting tariffs. In early 2026, Donald Trump said an agreement had been reached. But India later resumed purchases after war broke out in the Middle East and energy shortages emerged.

Negotiations over a trade deal between India and the U.S. are ongoing. In recent weeks, the talks have been complicated by the U.S. passage of the so-called “sanctions from hell” law. It allows Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying substantial amounts of Russian oil — above all, India.

The war in photos: The aftermath of Russian shelling