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Indian prime ministerNarendra Modi urged Russia and Ukraine to “sit together and find a way out of the conflict” during his “historic” visit to Kyiv.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he planned to discuss a summit on peace in Ukraine with Mr Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit the country since its independence from the Soviet Union.
“Personally ready to play any role as a friend to help bring peace”, Mr Modi reportedly said, reiterating the previous stance that “India is ready to make proactive contributions towards peace efforts”.
He urged the two countries to “move in the direction of dialogue without wasting any time”, calling it the “only way to resolve conflict”.
The two leaders hugged and shook hands as they met at the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History in Kyiv.
“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children,” Mr Modi wrote on the social media platform X after the visit. “My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief.”
They laid teddy bears at the memorial at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War before observing a moment of silence.
“Prime minister [Modi] was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict,” said India’s foreign ministry in a statement.
“He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory.”
He also paid tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi Monument in Kyiv. The chief of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called Mr Modi‘s visit “historic” and emphasised Ukraine’s expectation that India could play a role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine with a “just peace”, referring to Ukraine’s peace formula.
“We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country,” Mr Yermak said in an interview with India Today.
“But now it’s necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim.”
“Reached Kyiv earlier this morning,” the Indian prime minister had tweeted on his arrival, as he shared pictures of a reception with members of the Indian diaspora in Ukraine. “The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome,” he said.
Mr Modi’s visit comes one month after he met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. It is also the first trip by any Indian prime minister to Ukraine since Kyiv gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The visit comes at a volatile juncture in the war as Ukrainian forces are still occupying large swathes of Russia’s western Kursk region following an incursion that began on 6 August, while Russian troops are grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraine’s east.
India and Ukraine have some important links in terms of migration and trade in military spare parts, but the trip is largely being seen in the context of India’s ongoing balancing act when it comes to the Ukraine war. New Delhi has condemned the suffering taking place in the conflict without directly criticising Putin’s invasion, and has profited enormously from buying large volumes of discounted Russian oil.
“I look forward to the opportunity to … share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict,” Mr Modi had said before the trip. “As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region.”
Mr Modi‘s visit to Moscow last month coincided with a heavy Russian missile strike on Ukraine that hit a children’s hospital.
It elicited strong criticism from Mr Zelensky, who said it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day”.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Ukrainian president’s office, told Reuters that Mr Modi‘s visit to Kyiv was significant because New Delhi “really has a certain influence” over Moscow.
“It’s extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is – and that it is also in their interests,” he said.
Source: independent.co.uk
