PM Modi speaks to Ukraine Prez Zelensky, supports early end to conflict

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to its ongoing conflict with Russia.

“Had a good conversation with President@ZelenskyyUa on strengthening the India-Ukraine partnership. Conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

Had a good conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa on strengthening the India-Ukraine partnership. Conveyed India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance guided by…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 20, 2024

He added that India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine guided by its “people-centric approach”.

The conversation came soon after PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone, as the two leaders exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the ongoing conflict.

While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward, according to a Ministry of External Affairs release.

Earlier this month, a CNN report said that PM Modi played a key role in preventing a nuclear attack by Russia on Ukraine back in 2022.

Meeting Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan in 2022, PM Modi called for a peaceful solution to the conflict and told the Russian leader that “this is not an era of war”.

PM Modi had told President Putin that democracy, diplomacy, and dialogue have kept the world together.

In response, the Russian leader had said that he understood India’s “concerns” and promised PM Modi that he would try and end the conflict even as he blamed Ukraine for prolonging it.

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