Modi-Zelenskyy Meeting | India will do everything possible to find a solution to the Ukraine crisis: PM Modi

Hiroshima. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago and told him that India would do everything possible to find a solution to the conflict. . In a meeting on the sidelines of the G-7 group summit in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Modi said that the Ukraine crisis is a “huge issue” for the whole world and has many different effects on the whole world. “I want to assure you that India and I, in our individual capacity, will make every effort to find a solution to this conflict,” Modi said in his opening remarks during the talks. The Prime Minister told the Ukrainian leader that he does not see the conflict as a political or economic issue and for him it is an issue of humanity. At the same time, Zelensky gave detailed information to the Indian delegation about his ‘peace formula’ and urged India to join its implementation. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told a press conference that there was no discussion on India buying crude oil from Russia during the nearly 30-minute conversation between Modi and Zelensky. Asked about Ukraine’s participation in the G20 meetings chaired by India, he said the issue was not discussed. He said that Zelensky has invited Modi to visit Ukraine. Kwatra said that India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The President of Ukraine had demanded this meeting. In a tweet, Modi said he conveyed India’s “categorical support” to the Ukrainian leader for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis and that India would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine war began in February last year. Modi has spoken several times on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Zelensky. During this, he has said that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi said, “During the last one-and-a-half years, there have been phone conversations, but… after a long time got a chance to meet. Ukraine crisis is a huge issue for the whole world. It has had many different effects all over the world.” “But I don’t see it as a political or economic issue, for me it is a humanitarian issue,” he said. Modi said, “You know more than all of us what the pain of war is. When our students returned from Ukraine last year, they described in detail the situation, so I could feel your pain and that of the Ukrainian citizens.” In his remarks, Zelensky thanked India for “supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country” and providing humanitarian assistance. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Modi appreciated Ukraine’s cooperation in the safe evacuation of Indian students and welcomed the decision of Ukrainian educational institutions to conduct examinations for them in India. It added, “To resolve the situation, India and the Prime Minister personally will also make every effort to resolve the conflict.” The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Prime Minister said that India would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. The ministry said both sides agreed to remain in touch. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 last year, India had evacuated thousands of students from Ukraine. The Indian delegation at the talks included External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. India has so far not condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine and New Delhi has been maintaining that the crisis should be resolved through diplomacy and talks. Prime Minister Modi arrived here on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G-7 group and a meeting of top leaders of the four-nation grouping ‘Quad’. Modi is here as part of the first leg of his three-nation tour to Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The G-7 is a group of countries with the world’s seven largest developed economies. This includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. Under its G-7 chairmanship, Japan invited India and seven other countries to the summit as guest members. (agency)