Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister visits India
Al JazeeraThe first visit to India by a Ukrainian minister since the war began comes as New Delhi has refused to condemn the Russian invasion and maintains close ties with the Kremlin. Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, has arrived in India for a four-day visit, the first by a Ukrainian government minister since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. India’s Hindu newspaper reported that Dzhaparova would call on India to send a “strong message for peace” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will visit India in July for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. “There are companies in India that produce transformers,” said Antonina Antonsha, a spokeswoman for DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy provider. “India hosted the Russian foreign minister, Lavrov, a few months ago, and now we are hosting the Ukrainian deputy foreign minister.” India has enjoyed a close relationship and close defence ties with Russia for decades.