PM Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy | Photo Credit: X/@narendramodi

PM Modi meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy before leaving U.S.

India’s purchase of Russian oil not discussed, says Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri

by · The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (September 23, 2024) in the afternoon before departing New York for New Delhi. Mr Zelenksyy’s team had requested the meeting, according to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

There was no discussion on India’s purchase of Russian oil, Mr, Misri said as he briefed journalists on Monday. Referring to India’s purchase of oil, Mr. Zelenksyy had told Indian journalists in Kyiv last month, that if Indians “change their attitude” towards Russia, the war would end.

The two men last met in Kyiv on August 23 when Mr Modi made a short visit to Ukraine.  During Monday’s interaction— their third in as many months— they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war and the Ukraine-India bilateral relationship. Government officials were circumspect on Mr Modi’s afternoon schedule following his address at the UN’s Summit of the, prior to the announcement that the meeting had taken place.

Mr. Zelenskyy “thanked the Prime Minister for the efforts that he was making for peace and a pathway to finding a way out of this conflict”, Mr. Misri said.

“The President thanked India for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Ukrainian readout of the meeting said.

The Foreign Secretary confirmed that there was a discussion on the specifics of resolving the conflict and emphasized that Mr. Modi’s conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden following his (Mr. Modi’s) August Kyiv visit, as well as National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s meeting with Mr. Putin on September 12, were all attempts to “try and move towards some specifics”

“Specifics of resolution not yet available”

“I don’t say that the specifics are available today, but the attempt is to do precisely that,” Mr. Misri said.

Mr. Modi was deeply concerned about the conflict, because of the human toll it was taking and the larger toll on the world, especially the Global South, the Foreign Secretary said, adding that the meeting demonstrated the Prime Minister’s keenness to contribute to a resolution.

Also Read

There was not much discussion on a second Peace Summit , Mr. Misri said.

The first Summit on Peace in Ukraine was held in early June in Switzerland and India was represented at the secretary level.

The Ukrainian readout of the meeting specifically mentioned the conference.

“During the meeting, special attention was paid to strengthening interaction on international platforms, particularly within the UN and G20, as well as implementing the Peace Formula and preparing for the second Peace Summit,” it said.

Both the Indian and Ukrainian sides appreciated the progress on bilateral issues , Mr. Misri said, and agreed to keep in touch including potentially arranging a meeting of   the Intergovernmental Commission, which is led by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries.

 The Ukrainian readout described some of these issues, such as, enhancing trade and economic ties, defence cooperation, India’s involvement in post-war reconstruction, and collaboration in education, science, and culture.

Published - September 24, 2024 06:30 am IST