Hiroshima: Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday that India will do whatever is possible to find a solution to the Ukraine war, which has been raging for 15 months.
Modi, along with External Affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, met Zelensky and three of his top officials on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in the iconic Japanese city.
The two leaders have spoken over telephone a number of times, but this was the first time Modi and Zelensky met in person since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Describing the Ukraine war as an “issue of human values”, Modi noted in his televised opening remarks that he was meeting Zelensky – who clad in his trademark military uniform — in person after the COP26 conference in Glasgow in late 2021.
“The war in Ukraine is a very big issue for the whole world. It has had many different impacts on the whole world. But I don’t see this as a political or economic issue. For me, this is an issue of humanity, an issue of human values,” said Modi, who spoke in Hindi.
“You know more than any of us the suffering caused by war, but when our students came back from Ukraine last year, I could understand the pain felt by you and Ukrainian citizens from the description of the circumstances they gave then,” he said.
“I wish to assure you that India and me, in my personal capacity, will do whatever is possible to find a solution to this,” the PM added.
India have not publicly criticised Russia’s actions despite pressure from the US and European countries, with Modi saying repeatedly that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations must be respected and there should be a return to diplomacy and dialogue.
Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin a number of times since the start of the conflict, and tried to convince him to end the war. At SCO Summit in Uzbekistan last September, Modi told Putin this is “not the era of war”.
Last month, Zelensky sent Ukrainian first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova to New Delhi with a message for Modi, urging India to assume a greater role towards ending the war and inviting the Indian PM to visit Kyiv.
