President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Photo: President’s Office
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to visit Ukraine in August for the first time since the war began.
Details: According to WION, Modi's visit to Ukraine is most likely set for 23 August. Several diplomatic sources in Delhi have corroborated this.
Zelenskyy encouraged India's prime minister to visit Ukraine in a phone call earlier this year.
Modi spoke with Zelenskyy in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit. During their meeting, the two leaders talked about the situation in Ukraine, with the Indian prime minister emphasising "dialogue and diplomacy".
Modi visited Russia in early July, on the day Russia attacked the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv. At a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Modi urged him to end the war in Ukraine, telling Putin that a solution cannot be found on the battlefield.
Zelenskyy was critical of Modi's meeting with Putin, calling it a "devastating blow to peace efforts". In response, India summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to discuss Zelenskyy’s remarks.
The United States has expressed concern about India's relations with Russia in light of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
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Nomustang on July 27th, 2024 at 05:10 UTC »
Very interesting timing. Months after visiting Russia and during a time period where Ukraine's fate has become very uncertain. India often showcases its relationship with Russia to highlight its neutrality but perhaps this visit to Ukraine will also highlight the same but specifically showcase its independence from Russia. India has been far more engaged with Ukraine than China has been, actual meeting Zelenskyy in person with several high level meetings including with the both heads of government.
This is a side note. Ukraine and Russia are probably a while away from actual talks still but given India being repeatedly pushed as a mediator, if the two do have peace talks in the medium term and India can act as an in between it'd be a massive PR victory, bigger than the deal brokered by China between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Granted, slim chance it happens and if Russia broke that agreement not long after it'd make the event irrelevant.
Even_Jellyfish_214 on July 27th, 2024 at 04:00 UTC »
Its de-hyphenation. Think standalone visits to Israel then couple months later to Palestine
shriand on July 27th, 2024 at 03:55 UTC »
How does this play into Indo-Russian relations?