Why is India trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine Black Sea food corridor?

India is ready to help broker “food corridors” through the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The announcement came on the eve of United States-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi , with Russia and Ukraine returning to the negotiating table after a nine-month pause. Hours later, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Russia and Ukraine have attacked one another’s ports this year, choking off grain and oilseed exports that feed import-dependent countries in Africa and South Asia, and leaving India short of sunflower oil. “India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue,” Zelenskyy posted on X after the call. The leaders discussed Russia’s blocking of grain exports in the Black Sea, he said.

Modi did not mention food corridors or the Black Sea, but reaffirmed India’s commitment to contributing “in every possible way” towards a peaceful resolution.