External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on October 4 that India was holding discussions with both Russia and Ukraine on Black Sea shipping safety, grain and energy exports, and possible arrangements to avoid attacks. Speaking at the Munich Leaders Meeting in New Delhi, he described an expanded diplomatic effort in recent months. He did not announce an agreed ceasefire or say the war’s parties had accepted a common settlement.
The minister said India’s involvement had developed from urging dialogue into conversations about immediate concerns of the two countries. Shipping safety was the starting point, followed by the other areas he identified. His account places these discussions in progress: it supplies neither an implementation timetable nor the text, monitoring arrangements or guarantees of any proposed agreement.
The remarks were reported separately by the Indian Express’s Shubhajit Roy and AFP. Jaishankar’s own public account carried October 4 broadcasts of his participation, identifying the venue as New Delhi. One post described a discussion with Munich Security Conference president Wolfgang Ischinger and German Federal Foreign Office state secretary Bernard Kotsch.
Explaining India’s relationship with Moscow, Jaishankar recalled Soviet and Russian support when India faced threats to its security and territorial integrity. He said that history continued to shape the relationship, which now also includes trade, investment, energy, nuclear and space cooperation. This was his explanation of India’s diplomatic position alongside its engagement with Kyiv.
His wider address called for emerging and middle powers to cooperate on international security, resilient supply chains, healthcare, connectivity, climate action and defence. The minister argued that countries outside the largest powers could combine resources and support one another’s diplomacy as international institutions and alliances change.
The substantive development on Sunday is India’s public description of the subjects under discussion. The reviewed statements do not establish that Black Sea shipping has become safer, export restrictions have been removed or attacks have stopped as a result. Those outcomes would require separate confirmation from the parties and evidence of implementation.