Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a historic visit to Ukraine, telling President Volodymyr Zelensky that he is willing to play his part in bringing peace.
The Indian leader was criticized by President Zelensky last month when he hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to Moscow on the day of Russia’s deadly strikes, including one on Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital.
Mr Modi, 73, said he told Mr Putin that problems cannot be solved on the battlefield.
“Both sides will have to sit together and look for ways out of this problem,” he said after the meetings in Kyiv.
Mr Modi arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland, the first visit by a world leader since Ukrainian forces invaded Russia’s Kursk region in early August, taking more than 1,250 sq km of territory, according to the military.
Six weeks ago, President Zelensky spoke of his “deep disappointment” at watching Mr Modi warmly embrace the Russian leader.
On Friday it was the Ukrainian leader’s turn to be greeted by Mr Modi – although it proved to be an awkward greeting. Mr Zelensky appeared to be frowning, but it might as well have been sunshine in his eyes.
There were few smiles.
More than 40 people died in Russian strikes on the day Mr Modi visited Moscow. Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv was directly affected.
It was no coincidence that Mr Modi’s first stop on Friday was the Ukrainian history museum where he was invited to see an exhibition commemorating all 570 Ukrainian children reported to have been killed since Russia’s all-out invasion began in February 2022.
Both leaders knelt down to place soft toys in a temporary stand, and India’s prime minister later said his heart ached for the young “martyrs” of the war.
At one point he put his arm around the shoulders of the Ukrainian president – a photo posted on Mr Modi’s social media account with a message that his heart goes out to the families of the dead children.
Later came his request to help start peace talks, with Mr Modi insisting only on dialogue and negotiation that would end the fighting.
India was never neutral in the war, he insisted. “From day one our side was peaceful,” Mr Modi said, pointing out that he hails from the country of Mahatma Gandhi, whose statue in Kyiv he visited earlier.
But behind the language, the fact remains that India has never condemned Russia’s full-scale aggression and, in fact, has been helping to bolster Moscow’s military economy when Delhi overtook Beijing last month as Russia’s biggest oil buyer – at the time. it is hit by Western sanctions.
Mr Modi and President Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s continued incursion into Russian territory, although the content of that particular conversation is not known.
India participated in a Ukraine-led peace conference in Switzerland in June, to which Russia was not invited, and Mr Zelensky urged Mr Modi to sign a joint statement emphasizing Ukraine’s territorial integrity with all other states.
However, he thanked his guest for “supporting our sovereignty and the integrity of our land”, a sentiment Mr Modi repeated afterwards – as both men celebrated the historic day.
They continued to issue a joint statementWe promise to build on bilateral relations in defense and trade.
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