External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday that he spoke by phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and was briefed on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Jaishankar reiterated India’s support for an early end to the war and the “establishment of an enduring peace,” in a post on X.
The telephonic exchange comes weeks after the two ministers met on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Outreach Session in Canada, where they discussed bilateral issues, possible pathways to peace in Ukraine, and the battlefield situation.
Ukraine seeks India’s role
Sybiha, in his own post, said he briefed Jaishankar on ongoing peace efforts and upcoming diplomatic engagements. He added that India has an important role in advancing a “just peace” in the conflict.
Trump’s 28-point proposal raises stakes
The Jaishankar-Sybiha conversation comes as diplomatic manoeuvring accelerates around a contentious US-drafted 28-point peace proposal aimed at ending the three-year-old war. US President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the framework by Thanksgiving, saying the plan is a route to ending the conflict, while also indicating it is not his final offer.
Zelensky has expressed strong reservations, warning that Ukraine faces a hard choice between accepting a difficult deal and risking a tougher winter and further battlefield pressure.
What the leaked draft proposes
As described in the leaked draft referenced in the provided content, the proposal seeks to end the war through territorial, military, and political steps. It calls for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from parts of Donetsk they still hold, while recognising de facto Russian control over Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, and freezing current front lines in occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. It also proposes limits on Ukraine’s military strength, security guarantees for Kyiv, and a path for Russia’s reintegration into the global economy, including lifting sanctions and restoring the G8 format.
European governments, which were not consulted in drafting, have criticised the framework as skewed towards Moscow and are weighing counter-proposals ahead of talks in Geneva.
Rubio’s claim on authorship
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the 28-point draft was authored by the United States and built on inputs from both Russia and Ukraine, though some US lawmakers have described it as originating from Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed receiving the plan and said Moscow is willing to show flexibility, while also signalling readiness to keep fighting if negotiations fail.
Where India stands
India has maintained that dialogue and diplomacy are the only workable route to a durable settlement, and Jaishankar’s Sunday call restates that position at a moment when Kyiv is under visible deadline pressure from Washington.
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