World Needs Peacemakers, Not Opportunistic Bargainers
Mediation is the message. Whenever a controversy arises, politicians are active to prove themselves as visionary politicians and take credit for ending the controversy. When Donald Trump made headlines this month when he claimed a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, what weighed more than his claim was India's silence that was broken by a phone call. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had already heard about Trump's alleged claim, demolished Trump's claim by talking on the telephone for thirty-five minutes.
The Prime Minister made it clear that the ceasefire was possible due to direct contact between the armies of the two countries, which has its roots in the Simla Agreement of 1972. "India has never accepted third-party mediation and will not accept any third party mediation in the future. This conversation between Modi-Trump tells about a big crisis. The crisis is that a world ravaged by Iran-Israel, Israel-Hamas, Russia-Ukraine and Indo-Pak conflicts lacks credible and globally acceptable mediators. This has affected diplomacy and the violence has not been contained.
If we talk about the 1970s, it is reminiscent of Henry Kissinger's secret diplomacy with Mao Zedong to bring the then Soviet Union under control during the Cold War. In today's world, we don't see that kind of diplomatic mediation. Unlike today's propagandist bargainers, Kissinger had secret conversations with global giants with full respect to reshape the world. It cannot be compared to today's opportunistic attempts at mediation. If Trump saw himself as an avatar of Kissinger, Modi rejected him. There is a disturbing truth that in our times there is no credible mediator.
The global landscape of June 2025 is full of diverse conflicts and they do not seem to stop in the absence of a reliable mediator. The memory of legendary diplomats such as Franklin Roosevelt, who made peace after World War II, or Jimmy Carter, who implemented the Campdavid Accords in 1978, has faded. In the middle of the year, the world is like a cask of explosives, where Israel and Iran are launching missile attacks on each other, Ukraine and Russia are embroiled in a ground war, bloodshed between Israel and Hamas continues, and Indo-Pak tensions are building up in the aftermath of Operation Vermilion. In the midst of all this, not only resolve but also trust is missing. The days of Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy or the handshake of Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, who were enemies, are now nostalgia.
Today's so-called intermediaries are bargainers in a changed disguise. Trump's mediation record is misleading. His mediation in the Serbia-Kosovo dispute turned into a dispute again a few weeks later, the North Korea summit remained inconclusive and India is naturally rejecting his claim of a ceasefire in South Asia. Putin, who established himself as a mediator in West Asia through a treaty with Tehran, is currently busy providing Iran with drones and strategic advisers. China becomes active only when its 'Belt and Road' project is at stake. China's silence on Kashmir and its strategy of providing military assistance to Pakistan for its Operation Bunyan Al Marsus shows that its goal is profit, not peace. Europe, meanwhile, is a shadow of its glorious diplomatic past. Britain's David Lammy or the EU's Josep Borrell talk about stopping the conflict, but they don't have the same appeal as Konrad Adenauer or Charles de Gaulle.
The 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was described as a colossal achievement of European diplomacy, was dismissed by Trump in his first presidency in such a way that it was not even talked about again. The United Nations, which was born to settle global disputes, was crippled through veto politics. Its Gaza declaration of 2023 became irrelevant due to the US and Russian protests. Turkiye and Qatar also tried their hand at shuttle diplomacy. In January, a truce between Israel and Hamas, led by Qatar, lasted only 11 days.
Neither Israel nor Iran trust each other. Israel's self-defense claim and Iran's anti-Western stance are so opposed to each other that only a third party can reconcile, but Trump is not an impartial mediator because he is pro-Israel and threatens Iran. Russia's alliance with Tehran does not allow Putin to remain neutral either. The result is that the world has become a market where weapons, oil and attitudes have become more important than intermediaries.
Global defense spending reached a record $2.2 trillion in 2024. Shares of military suppliers such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are rising. Countries like China and Russia are meeting the military needs of Pakistan and Iran. Mediation for restoration of peace has become just an opportunity to take photos. Trump's intrusion into the midst of the Indo-Pak conflict was not for Kashmir, but for his sole purpose of building his image as a bargainer. In such a situation, Modi's blunt reply said that we do not want your gimmick.
India's foreign policy, which was once considered ineffective, has been strengthened today. Modi's blunt assertion to his powerful ally that he does not need third-party mediation signals a major shift in the foreign policy of the emerging power. Gone are the days when South Block waited for Washington or London to compromise. Today, India compromises on its own terms. However, the vacuum still remains. The world needs peacemakers, not power-hungry opportunists. A peacemaker who has the moral authority of Jimmy Carter and who is skilled in geopolitics like Kissinger. Unless such a personality arrives, millions of people will continue to be displaced and the war-torn world will continue to feed the arms industry through demolition.