Global food security is once again under growing pressure. Disruptions to maritime trade, grain supplies and energy flows affect prices, transport costs and livelihoods far beyond the countries directly involved.

Speaking at the Munich Leaders’ Meeting in New Delhi earlier this month, India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said that India had moved “beyond advocacy” in its efforts to help bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. New Delhi, he said, is engaged in conversations with both Ukraine and Russia, beginning with the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.

This growing Indian engagement has been welcomed by Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, who described India’s proposal as the most comprehensive of those under consideration.

At the European Parliament on September 16, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas underlined that “Ukraine and Russia should talk. All the others can be mediators or enablers, but they have to talk to each other.” In the most recent statement at the UN Security Council on September 23, Kallas added, “Russia must stop its aggression, accept a ceasefire, and engage meaningfully in negotiations towards a comprehensive just and lasting peace in accordance with international law”. Russia’s war of aggression........

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