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SUMMARY: Arnab Goswami’s Interview of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelensky told Goswami that expects India to show support for Ukraine and is willing to upgrade ties with India to a “special relationship.”

April 9, 2022

Author

Statecraft Staff
SUMMARY: Arnab Goswami’s Interview of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
IMAGE SOURCE: UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE

On Thursday, Republic TV journalist Arnab Goswami held an interview via video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who talked about the possible solutions to the ongoing conflict, the Bucha massacre, international sanctions on Russia and President Vladimir Putin, and India’s role.

Zelensky began the interview by saying that it was an opportunity for him to speak directly to Indians and bring attention to “what Russians are doing against us.”

Goswami then asked Zelensky about the Bucha massacre and claims by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the attack was fake and staged by Ukrainian forces. Zelensky said that Russian authorities are insensitive to the plight of Ukrainians. He pointed out that Lavrov is deliberately ignoring evidence on the ground and lying.

However, Zelensky said his sole aim is to put an end to the war and said Ukraine is willing to engage in diplomatic talks with Russia, despite how difficult it may be after Bucha. Zelensky also mentioned that he would only talk to Russian President Putin to work out “any possible steps” to end the war.

Following Moscow’s military retreat from Kyiv and surrounding regions, Bucha gained international attention as crimes committed by the Russian forces were made public. In Bucha, Ukrainian officials said that they found dead bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, claiming that Russian troops executed as many as 400 civilians. The international community has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine and on Thursday, United Nations General Assembly voted to expel Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Zelensky added that he is ready to talk about “any topic” with Putin, including the territorial status of Ukraine and the Russian-occupied regions of Crimea and Donbas. “Even if there is no decision, dialogue will bring some possible solutions to the situation,” he told Goswami. Zelensky emphasised that the faster Putin decides to talk with him, the lesser the casualties on both sides will be.

When asked if talks with Putin need to be mediated by any country, Zelensky said that it is not important to have external mediators but insisted that countries should provide Ukraine with security guarantees that its territory will not be subjected to another invasion. In this regard, he invited the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to provide Ukraine with security guarantees. Zelensky also called on China, India, and Turkey to provide Ukraine with similar guarantees.

Speaking about the increase in Russian attacks on the port cities of Odesa and Mariupol, Zelensky said that apart from controlling access to the Black Sea, Russia wants to block Ukrainian commercial shipments and gain leverage over Kyiv.

However, he added that Ukraine will continue to fight for its freedom and sovereignty. “We are not stepping back. We will fight for all those cities under Russian occupation. We have full control of Odesa, it’s a very difficult situation in Mariupol. We will struggle till we can restore territorial integrity,” he stressed.

Furthermore, the president told Goswami that Russia needs to withdraw from the regions it has occupied since the invasion began on February 24. He underscored that Ukrainian forces will not back down until all areas occupied by Russian forces since the invasion are cleared.

Speaking about the role of the United Nations in putting a lid on the conflict, the Ukrainian leader said that the UN can do a lot; however, he noted that the world body is not doing much other than expressing concern about the situation. Saying that we have heard the word “concern” for the last eight years, Zelensky said that the UN should show more courage and be willing to isolate Russia.

“We should be using words of concern, rather the world should start issuing ultimatums to Russia,” he remarked.

He said the war would only end if the world supplies us with weapons to defend our land. We don’t want to conquer any land of Russia, we want these on our land, Zelensky said, adding, “We have never used weapons to attack the Russian Federation. We have used weapons to defend ourselves.”

When asked about reports of the Ukrainian attack on an oil facility in the Russian city of Belgorod last week, Zelensky said that Ukraine was not behind the attack and blamed Russia for “firing at themselves and making videos.”

Next, Goswami asked Zelensky about the possibility of a third world war and Russia resorting to nuclear weapons if other nations get militarily involved against Moscow. Zelensky said that Russia would use nuclear weapons only if they have an advantage over other countries and not the other way around. “Using nuclear weapons would result in a situation where they [Russia] lose everything,” Zelensky said, but added that he does not believe Russia will use them.

Regarding the efficacy of sanctions, the Ukrainian President said that sanctions should be used as a weapon, not to harm Russian citizens, but to economically isolate Russia. Saying that he was grateful to the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia, he noted that more steps should be taken.

“Do not pretend you are trying to support Ukraine, but continue economic relations with Russia,” Zelensky said, taking a dig at European countries, (including Germany) that are still buying oil from Russia.

Finally, commenting on ties with New Delhi and its role in the stopping the war, Zelensky said that while he understands that it is “difficult to keep a balance” between ties with both Ukraine and Russia, since India enjoys cordial relations with both countries, sometimes some events call for decisive action. He stressed that since Russia is the aggressor against Ukraine, he expects India to support his country.

Moreover, he reminded India that it had a great relationship with the Soviet Union and not Russia, and the Soviet Union included countries that are independent today, including Ukraine. Therefore, he urged Delhi to keep this fact under consideration while taking decisions regarding the conflict.

“The wisdom is to see what is going to happen in the future […] We thank you [India] for the humanitarian assistance but I would like for the PM [Modi] to think of becoming a security guarantor for Ukraine,” he said. He also noted that if Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine, he would expect all guarantors to be against Moscow.

He emphasised that since India shares the same values of non-violence with Ukraine, he was confident that New Delhi would ultimately take a stance firmly in support of Ukraine. He added that he would like to upgrade ties with New Delhi to the status of a “special relationship” to gain its support.

While India has supported Ukraine with humanitarian aid and condemned the killing of civilians, it has been reluctant to publicly denounce Moscow’s actions. Experts have cited India’s past relations with Russia, Moscow’s support for New Delhi in multilateral fora, and its heavy dependence on Russia for defence equipment.

Furthermore, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India abstained from voting against Moscow at the UN Security Council and at the UNGA for expelling Russia from the Human Rights Council. It has also abstained from voting on resolutions in both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that sought to condemn Russia’s military actions in Ukraine and called for a withdrawal of its troops. 

New Delhi has also begun purchasing discounted Russian oil and is even considering a Rupee-Ruble exchange mechanism to bypass sanctions against Russian financial institutions. In fact, the Financial Times recently reported that India has imported 360,000 barrels per day in March, a fourfold increase from 2021.

Goswami has often toed the party line when it comes to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Accordingly, for much of this war, he has largely supported India’s stance on Ukraine and has been opposed to Western narratives of how India should act, particularly with regards to demands for India to unequivocally condemn Russia. Indeed, he has launched several tirades against Western hypocrisy on the topics of human rights and their commitment to friendship with India.

These denunciations of the West, particularly of the United States, have found great support within the Chinese government, with a number of Chinese government accounts reposting clips of Goswami in recent weeks. 

However, following the Bucha massacre, Goswami has called the incident a “genocide” and has criticised Russian aggression and also its responses to the latest allegations of war crimes. Interestingly, this change in tone has coincided with India condemning Russia aggression in Bucha, although New Delhi has not taken Russia’s name. In this respect, considering Goswami’s close ties to New Delhi, his latest views could be seen as a reflection of India’s changing position on the war.

Author

Statecraft Staff

Editorial Team

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