Dmytro Kuleba will meet with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Deputy National Security Advisor on Friday, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
On Thursday, Kuleba was scheduled to pay tribute to the memory of India’s independence movement leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial complex.
The visit comes a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
India has so far avoided criticizing Moscow over the war in Ukraine, stressing that diplomacy and dialogue are needed to end the conflict. India has also expressed its desire to contribute to peace, Euronews writes.
March 20 On the X social network, Modi wrote that he assured Zelensky that “India continues to support all efforts to achieve peace and end the ongoing conflict as soon as possible.” The Prime Minister added that India will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
It is true that before that N. Modi congratulated V. Putin on his re-election. The leaders agreed to further strengthen relations, with Modi reiterating that dialogue and peace are the best way to end the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a statement from India’s foreign ministry.
Under Modi, India is positioning itself as an emerging global player capable of mediating the war in Ukraine between the West and Russia.
In a phone call with Modi last week, Zelensky urged India to participate in the World Peace Summit, which Switzerland has agreed to host.
“Ukraine wants to strengthen trade and economic relations with India, especially in terms of export of agricultural products, cooperation in the field of aviation, and trade in pharmaceutical and industrial products,” the president of Ukraine wrote on the social network.
On the one hand, New Delhi has not yet voted against Moscow at the United Nations and has increased its purchases of Russian oil, which Russia sells cheaper, after the invasion. On the other hand, India has strengthened its cooperation with the Western world, including the United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU).
New Delhi is trying to reduce its dependence on Moscow for weapons and technology as the war disrupts the supply of raw materials. India is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (along with the US, Australia and Japan).
Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Emin Dzhaparova, who visited India last year, urged India to play a bigger role in finding ways to end the Russian invasion, saying Kyiv “will be grateful for any efforts aimed at ending the war.”
