In a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that New Delhi has always supported peace and had not acted as a neutral or uncaring observer during the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
It was the first time an Indian prime leader had visited Ukraine since the country’s independence in 1991, and Modi made his first visit in the midst of the country’s recent armed incursion into Russian territory.
During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Modi stated that Russia and Ukraine have to get together right now to discuss how to put an end to the current crisis.
After a quick visit to the Ukrainian capital, Modi stated that India is always prepared to play a “active role” in any attempt to restore peace in Ukraine and that he would even like to personally contribute to putting an end to the violence.
“I had a momentous visit to Ukraine. My goal in coming to this wonderful country was to strengthen the relationship between India and Ukraine. I had fruitful discussions with Zelenskyy. After a lengthy day of meetings and other engagements, Modi wrote on X, “India firmly believes that peace must always prevail.” The main topics of their extensive discussions with Zelenskyy were how to stop the conflict and strengthen cooperation
collaboration in the fields of trade, education, medicine, healthcare, and agriculture.
“India is not a neutral country. We have chosen sides from the outset. And the side of peace is what we have chosen. Modi began the meeting by saying, “We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war.”
“We hail from the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi, who spread a message of peace throughout the world,” he declared.
The prime minister also reaffirmed India’s unwavering commitment to upholding each state’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He said, “It is of the utmost importance to us to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed to respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states).”
Zelenskyy was also informed by Modi about his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month and in Samarkand in September 2022.
“I had informed President Putin that we were not living in a period of war when we first met in Samarkand. “I made it very clear last month when I visited Russia that there is never a solution to a problem on the battlefield,” Modi stated.
“We should move forward without wasting time in that direction since talks, dialogue, and diplomacy are the means by which the solution is reached. Together, the two parties had to sit down and figure out how to resolve this situation, Modi stated.
According to S Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, Modi reaffirmed the need for “practical engagement” amongst all parties in order to create a novel solution that will foster widespread acceptance and advance peace and stability.
He claimed that the prime minister informed Zelenskyy of India’s readiness to help in “all possible ways” to hasten the restoration of peace in Ukraine.
Jaishankar described the conversation as “very detailed, open and in many ways constructive” during a press briefing.
The military posture, issues related to food and energy security, and “conceivable pathways to peace” were among the topics that dominated the discussions to some degree.
According to him, the Ukrainian side desired India to remain involved in the Global Peace conference.
“It is India’s view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution,” he stated.
According to the minister of external affairs, the two leaders reaffirmed their willingness to work together to preserve international legal norms such respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to Jaishankar, Zelenskyy spoke about both the diplomatic and ground situation assessments that the prime minister had requested from the president.
The ministry of external affairs called Modi’s trip to Kiev a “landmark” one.
According to Jaishankar, the bilateral relations between President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Modi constituted a substantial portion of their discussions.
According to him, talks took place about commerce, economic concerns, defence, medicine, agriculture, and education.
The intergovernmental commission between India and Ukraine was also given a specific mandate by Modi and Zelenskyy to concentrate on mending trade and commercial ties.