Ukraine conflict, Chinese actions in Indo-Pacific figured in Modi-Macron talks: Sources

The Ukraine conflict and Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific region figured in last week's talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, and both sides have similar views over the two issues, sources said on Monday. France and its western allies believe that the situation in Ukraine has not improved since the Bali summit of the G20 and they would not settle for anything less than what was mentioned on the conflict in the joint leaders' declaration of the grouping last year, the sources said when asked about the upcoming New Delhi summit of the bloc.

As the current G20 president, India has been trying to build consensus on the text relating to the Ukraine conflict in the leaders' declaration to be unveiled at the New Delhi summit of the grouping in September.

There have been sharp differences between the West and the Russia-China combine on the text relating to the Ukraine crisis.


In the text of the draft communique, two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict were taken from the G20 leaders' Bali declaration.

Both Russia and China had agreed to the two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict in the Bali declaration, but backtracked from it this year, creating difficulties for India to build consensus on the tricky issue.

France and its allies will not settle for anything less than what was agreed to in the Bali declaration, the sources said.

At the same time, they said France is helping India to make its G20 presidency successful.

The sources said France also supports India's proposal to include the African Union (AU) in the G20 as a permanent member.

The proposal has already been included in the draft communique that is being finalised for the annual summit of the grouping.

The AU is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.

India has been pressing for granting the membership to the AU, arguing that the voice of Africa cannot be ignored.

Modi wrote to the leaders of the G20 nations last month, proposing that the AU be given the full membership of the grouping at the upcoming summit.

The sources said Modi and Macron also deliberated on the Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific. There have been growing global concerns over China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

Following the talks, the two sides unveiled an India-France Indo-Pacific roadmap for boosting cooperation in the region.

"Our two countries believe in a free, open, inclusive, secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific region," the roadmap noted.

"We believe that India-France partnership will be a crucial pillar of the inter-connected and intersecting arrangements in the Indo-Pacific region and indispensable for a peaceful and prosperous future for the Indo-Pacific region," it said.