On Saturday night, outside of the G7 summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to persons familiar with the situation.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi had private discussions with a number of leaders, including Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, French President Emmanuel Macron, and his Japanese colleague Fumio Kishida.
The meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy was organised as a result of several negotiations between India’s and Ukraine’s top diplomats.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year, PM Modi and Zelenskyy would be meeting for the first time in person at this time.
In the first phase of his three-nation journey, which will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia, Prime Minister Modi landed in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the G7 group’s annual summit.
Following an invitation from Japan, the G7’s current chair, the president of Ukraine is also present at the summit.
Zelenskyy will attend the conference, according to Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council.
On Friday, he remarked on national television, ‘We were confident that our president would be where Ukraine needed him, in any region of the world, to solve the issue of stability of our country.’
‘There will be very important matters decided there, so physical presence is a crucial thing to defend our interests,’ Danilov said.
Modi has spoken with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin numerous times since the situation in Ukraine first erupted.
On October 4 of the previous year, Modi told Zelenskyy over the phone that there is “no military solution” and that India is prepared to support any diplomatic initiatives.
The US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan are the other members of the G7. India and seven additional nations were invited to the summit by Japan, the current grouping chair.
The G20 organisation includes all of the G7 nations. The G20 is currently being presided over by India.
India has been focusing on ensuring consensus for a joint communique at the G20 summit in September. The G20 also comprises Russia and China.
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