Underlining that she had discussed the war in Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the “consequences of the horrible crimes committed against civilians”, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday she “hoped” that “India will influence Russia” to end the war.
This is one of the most clear expectations enunciated and articulated by any European leader in the last two months since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Condemning Russia’s “unlawful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”, she said her message to Russian President Vladimir Putin was “very clear” that he has to “stop this war” and “end the killings”.
Modi, who was standing with her as they made statements after their bilateral meeting, said they discussed Ukraine and called for a ceasefire and resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy — a reiteration of New Delhi’s position, articulated at the UN as well as in Berlin Monday in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Prime Ministers will meet again Wednesday for the India-Nordic summit which will include Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. This will be the second such summit after the first in 2018.
Frederiksen said, “We share many values. We are two democratic nations. We both believe in a rule-based international system. And in times as these, we need to build an even stronger bridge between us as close partners. We, of course, also discussed the war in Ukraine.”
“We discussed the consequences of the horrible crimes committed against civilians and the serious humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The reports on killings of civilians in Bucha are deeply shocking. We have condemned these killings and we stressed the need for an independent investigation. Denmark and the entire European Union strongly condemned Russia’s unlawful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
“My message is very clear — Putin has got to stop this war and to end the killings. I, of course, hope that India will influence Russia also in this discussion,” she said.
Modi, who did not mention Russia in his statement, said, “Today we discussed India-EU ties, Indo-Pacific and Ukraine, along with other regional and global issues… We appealed for an immediate ceasefire… diplomacy and dialogue are the path to resolve the conflict.”
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/narendra-modi-denmark-india-nordic-summit-7899883/
