Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Russia and Ukraine to talk to each other to end the ongoing conflict and said India is ready to play an “active role,” President Vladimir Putin on Thursday named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the issue. He also said these countries are sincerely making efforts to resolve it.
Modi made these assertions during his talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his historic visit there on August 23. He conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an “active role” to restore peace in the region.
Modi also said he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
His nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with President Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries.
As regards the latest development, PTI reported from Moscow, President Putin on Thursday named India among the three countries he is constantly in touch over the Ukraine conflict and said they are sincerely making efforts to resolve it, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
Reporting on his remarks at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, US media outlet Politico reported him as also saying, “If there is a desire of Ukraine to carry on with the negotiations, I can do that.”
Putin’s remarks came within two weeks after Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to Ukraine where he held talks with President Zelenskyy.
“We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India. I constantly keep in touch with our colleagues on this issue,” Putin was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency.
Separately, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Izvestia daily that India could help in establishing a dialogue on Ukraine.
Underlining the existing “highly constructive, even friendly relations” between Modi and Putin, he said the Indian Prime Minister can “lead the line on getting first-hand information from the participants in this conflict,” as he “freely communicates with Putin, with Zelenskyy, and with the Americans.”
“This gives a great opportunity for India to throw its weight in world affairs, to use its influence that would drive the Americans and Ukrainians towards using a greater political will and entering the peaceful settlement track,” Peskov said.
He, however, said there are “no specific plans” on Modi mediating on the issue. “At this time they can hardly exist, as we do not see any preconditions for talks for now,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
In his talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Modi said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
