Hiroshima: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that India will do everything possible to find a solution to the Ukraine conflict as the two leaders held in-person talks for the first time after Russia invaded the eastern European country 15 months back.
In the meeting that took place on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the prime minister said that the war in Ukraine is a ‘very big issue’ and that it has had many different impacts on the globe. At the same time Modi told the Ukrainian leader that he does not see the conflict as a political or economic issue and that for him, it is an issue of humanity and human values.
On his part, Zelenskyy briefed the Indian side in detail on his peace formula and urged New Delhi to join in its implementation. ‘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’, Modi said in his televised opening remarks.
‘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 I, in my personal capacity, will do whatever is possible to find a solution to this’, Modi said.
At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said there was no discussion during the Modi-Zelenskyy meeting, which lasted for around 30 minutes, on India’s procurement of crude oil from Russia. Asked about Ukraine’s participation at G20 meetings under India’s presidency, he said the issue did not figure. Zelenskyy has invited Modi to visit Ukraine. In a tweet, Modi said he conveyed to the Ukranian leader India’s ‘clear support’ for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward and that New Delhi will continue extending humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.
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