Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he would himself want to contribute as a friend if needed towards a peace effort between Russia and Ukraine. Modi said this in the presence of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday.
This is a major outreach by Modi to strike a peace deal between the two warring nations that he has visited within six weeks of each other. “I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. If I can personally contribute to this, I would definitely like to do so. As a friend, I assure you of this,” Modi said to Zelenskyy. The PM also said that territorial integrity is of utmost importance and he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that no solution can be found on the battlefield. “Dialogue and diplomacy is required and both sides must move forward on it,” Modi said.
‘India land of Buddha, Gandhi’
The PM said he had come with a message of peace and India was the land of Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi who stood for peace. “Our approach is to be on the side of peace…we want to be away from war,” Modi said.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar also said that Modi had told Zelenskyy: “If there is anything that we can do, in any way, (you know) in sort of upfront or behind or supporting somebody, it is the objective that we are interested in rather than the process — we are willing to do whatever we can. Because we think continuation of this conflict is terrible for Ukraine itself, and the world.”
PM’s message and embrace
Modi said that he was pained at witnessing the death of children in the conflict and said the war’s first casualties are invariably innocent children which is very painful. “In any civilised world with regard for human values, such incidents are unacceptable,” Modi said. He embraced Zelenskyy and placed his arm on the Ukrainian President’s shoulder in a significant message. Jaishankar later said such gestures were a part of the Indian culture and Modi had embraced many other world leaders in the past when asked about Zelenskyy’s criticism earlier of Modi embracing Vladimir Putin in July.
Jaishankar said Ukraine wants continued involvement of India in the “peace summit” and added that the UN Charter and “respect for territorial integrity” are mentioned in the joint statement released by both sides.