Russia-Ukraine conflict | PM Modi dials Putin ahead of Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s visit; reiterates India’s position on dialogue as the ‘way forward’
The HinduPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and called for an “early end to the ongoing conflict”. Prime Minister Modi first called President Putin to congratulate him upon his victory in the recent election and followed it up with a call to President Zelenskyy and reiterated India’s commitment to “do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution”. A statement from the Indian side further added, “While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward.” “Both sides noted with satisfaction that mutually beneficial ties in the trade, economic and investment fields, in the fields of energy and transport are progressively and dynamically developing in line with a particularly privileged strategic partnership,” the message from Kremlin said. After the Modi-Zelenskyy conversation, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs here said, “While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM reiterated India’s people-centric approach and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. He added that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution.” Ukraine’s leader President Zelenskyy has not visited India since the war broke out and President Putin too cancelled travelling for the G20 summit held here in September 2023 but PM Modi met President Zelenskyy in Hiroshima during last G7 summit.