Modi Calls Zelensky Before the Abu Dhabi Peace Talks, Explained

Narendra Modi spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, 9 November 2026, the day before Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators were due back in the same city for the first time since February. The Indian readout is short. India will help efforts at a peaceful end to the war, and the two leaders talked about bilateral ties. It does not mention grain, the Black Sea, or mediation.

Zelensky's account, posted afterwards, is more specific. He wrote that India is ready to mediate food corridors so grain can move through the Black Sea. That is his sentence. It is the line Indian readers are searching, and it is not the sentence New Delhi published.

The 60-second version

• The call: The Prime Minister's Office said Zelensky shared his view of the conflict, and Modi repeated that it must be settled by dialogue and diplomacy. India, Modi conveyed, is ready to contribute to all efforts at a peaceful resolution.
• The extra claim: Zelensky wrote that India is ready to mediate food corridors. The Hindu, Hindustan Times and Business Standard quote the post. The PMO text does not.
• The second call: The same evening, S. Jaishankar wrote that he had spoken to Sergey Lavrov about the Ukraine conflict and ongoing diplomatic initiatives. Moscow's readout, Anadolu reported, stressed bilateral cooperation.
• Abu Dhabi: Talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 November, mediated by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Axios said this is the first round with US mediators present since February.
• The gap: Axios said the public positions have not moved. Russia wants all of Donbas. Ukraine wants the current front line. US officials told Axios a territorial bargain waits on security guarantees.
• India is not at that table. Nothing in the PMO note, or in the Abu Dhabi previews, says an Indian official is in the negotiating room.

What New Delhi said, and what Zelensky added

The PMO note, dated 9 November, says Zelensky shared his perspective on recent developments in the conflict. Modi "reaffirmed India's human-centric approach" and "reiterated India's consistent position that the conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy." He "conveyed India's readiness to contribute to all efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict." The two also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation "for the mutual benefit of the two peoples."

Modi's own post, carried on the same PMO page, thanks Zelensky for sharing his perspectives on the conflict, "its humanitarian aspects and various efforts to restore peace," and says India has a "firm commitment to contributing in every possible way towards a peaceful resolution." He called the conversation productive and said they agreed to strengthen India-Ukraine ties. The Hindu and Business Standard attributed those same government lines to a Ministry of External Affairs readout. IANS attributed them to the PMO. The wording matches.

Zelensky went further. The Hindu quotes his post:

"It is important that India identify what steps it can take and what dialogue it can pursue with other leaders to help bring the war to an end. Food security could be one such area. We discussed Russia's blocking of grain exports via the Black Sea. India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue."

Hindustan Times and Business Standard quote the same food-corridor sentence. Hindustan Times also quotes him saying Russia "must understand that the global economy and hundreds of millions of people around the world are suffering because of blocked sea routes," and that Modi has said more than once, including to the Russian leader, that this is the time to end the war. He said Ukraine was preparing "on every item on the agenda" for Abu Dhabi and that Russia "must show the same readiness to de-escalate." IANS reported a statement from Zelensky's office making the food-corridor claim.

The Hindu's headline treats that post as Zelensky announcing India's readiness and welcoming an offer. The offer, in the text of the post the paper quotes, is described by him, not by the PMO. A reader who stops at his sentence will think New Delhi signed up to a mediation. A reader who stops at the PMO note will not find the words.

What Jaishankar told Lavrov, and what India has said before

Within a couple of hours, The Hindu reported, Jaishankar posted that the conversation with Lavrov "focused on the Ukraine conflict and ongoing diplomatic initiatives." IANS and Anadolu quote the post in full: "Spoke this evening with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Our conversation focused on the Ukraine conflict and ongoing diplomatic initiatives." He did not set out a proposal. Anadolu added that the Russian foreign ministry said the ministers discussed bilateral cooperation. The two public descriptions are not the same length, and neither is a transcript.

India has used stronger language on mediation before Monday, in other forums.

Business Standard reported that in the first week of October, at the Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi, Jaishankar said India was mediating between Russia and Ukraine so that grain and fertiliser could move, because that was tied to food security in the Global South. The same paper said he described the stakes as the "4Fs": fuel, food, fertilisers and finance. It also reported his account of July, when attacks on merchant ships by both sides killed and injured Indian sailors, grain exports had nearly stopped, and the practical problem was to separate grain and other cargoes from energy shipments. Those are his descriptions, as Business Standard reported them. The paper did not give a casualty count.

The Hindu reported a later, more formal shape. On 22 October, during Polish prime minister Donald Tusk's visit to Delhi, Indian officials told the paper they had taken a "four-point proposal" to both governments: stop attacks on civilians, allow grain and energy exports from both countries through the Black Sea, and end the targeting of ships and seafarers, many of them Indian. The paper's sentence does not list four separate bullets. Highly placed officials told The Hindu that New Delhi hoped to hear back soon, and that it was in close contact with both sides. That was 22 October, not a line in Monday's readout.

Hindustan Times placed an earlier version in Kyiv. It said Jaishankar, on 3 September, gave Zelensky and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha a three-part proposal: halt attacks on energy facilities and other infrastructure, keep grain and energy flowing through the Black Sea, and end strikes on commercial shipping. The paper said both Russia and Ukraine had welcomed it, and that the plan was broader than Egyptian and Turkish ideas focused on grain ships, and broader than a US "energy ceasefire." It also said Jaishankar reached Kyiv three days after Modi, on 31 August, urged Vladimir Putin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan to move from "endless war" to "the end of war."

Monday's calls sit on top of that record. They do not, on the documents New Delhi published, repeat the food-corridor sentence Zelensky used.

What the Abu Dhabi talks are

Xinhua, citing informed sources, said the Russian and Ukrainian delegations arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks with the United States on Tuesday and Wednesday. Axios said the same two days, and said this is the first time the parties have met with US mediators present since February, when the channel was suspended because of the war in Iran. AFP, via France24, called it the first such negotiation in more than nine months, in a war that is nearing five years. Anadolu listed the earlier US-mediated rounds as 23-24 January and 4-5 February in Abu Dhabi, and 17-18 February in Geneva.

The US side is Witkoff and Kushner. Axios said they have spent weeks trying to get Putin back to talks, and that a US official hoped he would be more willing to compromise after the United States lifted sanctions on Russian diesel sales "and took other steps welcomed by Moscow." AFP reported that Trump had struck a diesel deal with Putin and had criticised Zelensky. Those are the two descriptions. Axios quoted a US official: "The relations we have built with Putin will be instrumental in these negotiations." Another official told Axios there was "a shot to make significant progress towards a deal," and that the envoys want the talks to "crystallize" the decisions Putin and Zelensky still have to take. The same report said Witkoff and Kushner may go on to Moscow and Kyiv afterwards. That travel is a US official's possibility, not an announced itinerary.

Axios split the agenda in two. A military working group led by Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of US European Command, is to discuss post-war ceasefire monitoring and security arrangements. Axios said that group made significant progress in February. A political working group takes the territorial demands. Axios said there was no progress on territory in February.

Who is in the room, and who is outside it

AFP said Ukraine's team is led by intelligence chief Rustem Umerov and includes Zelensky aide Kyrylo Budanov. Xinhua called him head of Ukraine's foreign intelligence service, and said Umerov announced on Telegram that the team was heading to the UAE, and quoted him: "Our goal is a long-term and sustainable peace, guaranteed security for Ukraine, and real opportunities for Ukraine's post-war recovery." He also said Ukraine would hold separate coordination meetings with European partners.

AFP said Russia's team is led by Vladimir Medinsky and includes diplomat Mikhail Galuzin, spy chief Igor Kostyukov, army general Yuri Zhygarlovsky, and, for the first time, Sergei Ryabkov. AFP described Ryabkov as the official who delivered Moscow's December 2021 ultimatum that NATO pull forces back from eastern Europe. Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center told AFP that Moscow's stated position is still that ultimatum, and that whether it is still the real red line "can only be established during the talks."

Europe is in Abu Dhabi and, on the reporting, not yet in the talks.

Umerov, via Xinhua, said representatives of the UK, France, Germany and Italy, plus NATO and the European Commission, would be present. Ursula von der Leyen told AFP: "the EU will be present alongside our partners." An EU official told AFP that national security officials for the bloc, NATO, France, Germany and the UK would be on site, and that how they would be involved was unclear. Axios said Witkoff and Kushner had invited NATO, the EU and the UK, France, Germany and Italy for separate discussions on the sidelines, and that the Americans hope Russia will agree to put Europeans in the next round. The Kremlin, AFP reported, said the format remains Russia, Ukraine and the United States. Zelensky told AFP he had coordinated Ukraine's position with the EU before the talks.

Axios also reported a US idea for a third track, between European countries and Russia, which many European governments suspect because they think it treats Europe as a threat to Moscow and could weaken NATO. US officials told Axios the idea would not replace NATO. That is their assurance, given to a reporter, not a treaty.

India is in neither list. The Hindu said it remains to be seen whether New Delhi joins the US-UAE channel or tries to host talks of its own. That is the paper's question, not an Indian announcement.

Where the two sides still disagree

Axios said that, in public, nothing has moved. Russia wants control of the whole of Donbas. Ukraine wants territory divided on the current front line. In private, US officials told Axios, both sides have "shown a little bit of flexibility" in recent weeks, and a territorial agreement will not be possible until security guarantees are settled. Hindustan Times, writing about why the earlier round stalled, said it was over Russian demands that Ukraine hand over 2,000 square miles. The paper did not say that figure is the demand on the table this week. AFP said Moscow has not taken Donetsk in more than four years of pushing west, and that Putin has refused face-to-face talks with Zelensky.

The same AFP story said Russia has kept hitting Ukraine's energy system as another winter approaches, and that Zelensky accused Moscow of stepping up attacks before the talks to "lay the groundwork for putting pressure on Ukraine's position." He warned against what he called a "Yalta 2.0", his reference, as AFP reported it, to Western leaders dividing Europe with the USSR in 1945. Trump, AFP reported, has talked of a "very big" deal with Russia that will "involve all of Europe," and has said Ukraine will "end up with a little bit (of a) different shape."

Ukrainian officials told Axios their priorities for this round are narrower than a final map: a Black Sea de-escalation that lets grain out, a halt to strikes on Ukrainian power plants and on Russian oil refineries before winter, and a Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting, possibly at the G20 summit in Miami next month. The Black Sea item is the one that overlaps Zelensky's ask of India. A political analyst, Volodymyr Fesenko, told AFP that Ukrainians are "very pessimistic," that Kyiv will try for partial or local ceasefires, and that a recent truce in the Kherson region was a precedent. AFP said the Kremlin has so far refused broader ceasefires.

Axios was blunt about the odds even while passing on the White House's "cautiously optimistic" line. Escalating Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, and Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire, "have cast doubt on prospects for meaningful progress."

What to watch next

1. Whether anyone in New Delhi repeats Zelensky's sentence. The test of the food-corridor line is a minister, or a later readout, using it. Monday's PMO note did not.
2. Black Sea grain and energy strikes. Those are Ukraine's stated priorities for Abu Dhabi, via Axios, and they are the subjects Jaishankar has already raised with both sides, via The Hindu and Hindustan Times. A narrow deal there would matter to Indian seafarers and to food prices even if Donbas is untouched.
3. The format. Umerov says Europeans are in the city for separate meetings. The Kremlin says the talks are trilateral. Axios says Washington hopes Europeans join the next round, not this one.
4. After Abu Dhabi. A US official told Axios that Witkoff and Kushner may fly on to Moscow and Kyiv. Ukrainian officials told Axios they want a leaders' meeting, possibly at the G20 in Miami.
5. The next Modi diary, as The Hindu reported it. The paper said Modi and Donald Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines of ASEAN-linked summits in Manila about a week after the call, and that Trump is expected in Shenzhen later this month for an APEC summit that Putin is also expected to attend. Those are expectations in one report, not confirmed schedules published by the PMO.

The Indian sentence on Monday was a willingness to help a peaceful resolution. The food-corridor mediation was Zelensky's description of the call. The talks that will show whether either formulation moves anything open in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

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This explainer uses the Prime Minister's Office note dated 9 November 2026, on pmindia.gov.in, for the readout and for the text of Modi's post, including "restore peace" and the line on contributing to a peaceful resolution. The Hindu (Suhasini Haidar, published 7:32 pm IST on 9 November 2026, updated 12:21 am IST on 10 November) is the source for the Zelensky post as quoted, the description of him announcing India's readiness, the Jaishankar post going up within a couple of hours, the 22 October four-point proposal as officials described it during Donald Tusk's visit, the hope of a reply from both sides, the question of whether India joins or hosts talks, and the reported expectation of a Modi-Trump meeting in Manila and an APEC summit in Shenzhen. Hindustan Times (Rezaul H. Laskar, updated 10:52 pm IST on 9 November 2026) is the source for Zelensky's lines on blocked sea routes, on Modi's remarks to the Russian leader, and on de-escalation before Abu Dhabi, for the 3 September Kyiv proposal to Zelensky and Andrii Sybiha, for the claim that both sides welcomed it, for the comparison with Egyptian, Turkish and US ideas, for the 31 August remark to Putin, and for the 2,000 square miles account of why earlier talks stalled. Business Standard (Archis Mohan, 10:33 pm IST on 9 November 2026) is the source for the Kautilya remarks, the July attacks on sailors, the "4Fs", the SCO meeting dated 31 August to 1 September, and the BRICS meeting in New Delhi. The tweet text is taken from the PMO page, not from Business Standard. IANS (New Delhi, 9:44 pm on 9 November 2026) is the source for the full Jaishankar post and for a Zelensky-office statement on food corridors. Anadolu Agency (9 November 2026) is the source for the Russian foreign ministry's description of the Lavrov call, for Zelensky briefing Modi on Abu Dhabi, and for the January and February dates of the earlier rounds. Axios (Barak Ravid, 9 November 2026) is the source for the White House's "cautiously optimistic" line, the suspension since February because of the war in Iran, the diesel-sanctions line, the official quotes, the two working groups, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich's role, the Donbas and front-line positions, the private "flexibility" line, the European sideline invitation, the proposed Europe-Russia track, the possible onward travel, and Ukraine's three priorities including a G20 meeting in Miami. Agence France-Presse, via France24 (issued 9 November 2026), is the source for the "more than nine months" gap, the death and displacement scale, the delegation names, Ryabkov and the 2021 ultimatum, Gabuev's comment, von der Leyen's line, the EU official on who is on site, the Kremlin's format, Zelensky's "Yalta 2.0" warning and his remark on attacks before the talks, Trump's "very big" deal and "different shape" lines, Fesenko's comments, the Kherson truce as he described it, and the Kremlin's refusal of broader ceasefires. Xinhua (dateline Abu Dhabi, 9 November 2026) is the source for the delegations' arrival, Umerov's title, his Telegram announcement and quote, and the European list he gave. US and European "officials" quoted without names are the unnamed sources in those reports. Zelensky's food-corridor sentence is his. The PMO did not publish it.