Hiroshima, May 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured the Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelinskyy that he personally will do everything within his means to end the war with Russia, during their bilateral meeting in Hiroshima on the sidelines of G7 summit.
“For me, it’s a humanitarian crisis rather than a political one. When the 22,000 Indian students returned from Ukraine last year, they described what it meant to be in a conflict zone. I can understand what Ukrainians are going through. India and myself in particular will do everything possible to find a resolution to the situation,” Modi told Zelenskyy.
This was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were part of the group led by Modi that interacted with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian President, on his part, said he had a fruitful meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I invited India to join the Ukrainian Peace Formula. I also spoke about the Ukrainian need for mobile hospitals and thanked India for supporting our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty at the platform’s of International Organizations and for providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. He also invited Modi to visit Ukraine.
India has not outright condemned the war, but Modi has on multiple occasions urged both sides to resolve it through dialogue and diplomacy.
Meanwhile, the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs – who have accompanied Modi to Hiroshima – will continue their dialogue with the Ukrainian officials.
EOM