NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Wednesday, conveying India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and that it would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Moves are afoot to schedule a visit to New Delhi next week by Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba at a time when Kyiv is keen on India’s presence at the peace summit in Switzerland.

It is learnt that officials in Switzerland, India and Ukraine are working towards India’s participation at the summit this summer. China has also indicated that it is likely to attend the summit, sources said.

That Kyiv wants Delhi to participate was underlined by Zelenskyy who, in a post on X after his conversation with Modi, said, “It will be important for us to see India attend the inaugural Peace Summit, which is currently being prepared in Switzerland.”

Modi, in the phone call to Putin, “congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation and conveyed his best wishes for peace, progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Russia,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The Kremlin’s statement said that “during the extensive telephone call, Narendra Modi congratulated Vladimir Putin on his landslide victory in the Russian presidential election and offered his sincere wishes of prosperity and well-being to the Russian people”.

“The conversation was warm and friendly. Vladimir Putin wished Narendra Modi successful parliamentary elections in India,” the Kremlin said.

Modi, in a post on X, said, “Spoke with President Putin and congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. We agreed to work together to further deepen and expand India-Russia Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership in the years ahead.”

The MEA said that while “discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch.”

The Kremlin said that they exchanged views on various issues on the international agenda, “particularly regarding the situation around Ukraine”. They affirmed their commitment to coordinating their countries’ actions within multilateral formats, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, it said.

About his discussion with the leader of Ukraine, Modi said he had “a good conversation” with Zelenskyy on strengthening the India-Ukraine partnership. “Conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance guided by our people-centric approach,” he said.

Zelenskyy said he spoke to Modi to “express gratitude for India’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, humanitarian aid, and active participation in Peace Formula meetings. It will be important for us to see India attend the inaugural Peace Summit, which is currently being prepared in Switzerland.”

“We discussed the development of our bilateral relations, which should include a meeting of our teams and a session of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation in New Delhi in the nearest future,” he said, indicating about Kuleba’s proposed visit next week.

“Ukraine is interested in strengthening our trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade,” the Ukrainian President said, adding that “Ukraine also wishes to welcome Indian students back to Ukrainian educational institutions”.

The MEA said, “While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the PM reiterated India’s people-centric approach and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. He highlighted that India supports all efforts for an early and peaceful resolution of all issues between the parties. He added that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution. President Zelenskyy appreciated India’s continued humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine.”

It said the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen India-Ukraine partnership in various spheres. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch, it said.
Kuleba’s visit will be his first since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022.

Modi has spoken to Putin and Zelenskyy in the past – with the Russian President, he has had at least five phone calls and with the Ukraine President there have been at least four phone calls since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He has also met both leaders in-person on the sidelines of multilateral summits.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had sought India’s support for his 10-point “peace formula”, which calls for withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, release of prisoners, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and guarantees on nuclear safety, food and energy security.

Since February 2022, New Delhi has provided at least 12 consignments, totalling 99.3 tonnes, of humanitarian assistance, to Ukraine and neighbouring countries. These include medicines, blankets, tents, tarpaulin and medical equipment.

India has sought to maintain a diplomatic balancing act between Russia and Ukraine. While India has not explicitly condemned the Russian invasion, it has called for an international probe into the Bucha massacre and expressed concern over nuclear threats issued by Russian leaders. At the UN Security Council, India has taken a nuanced position and abstained from voting against Russia in several resolutions. Modi had told Putin in September 2022 that “this is not the era of war” – a formulation that found echo in the G20 summit statement in Bali in November 2022.