Zelenskyy thanks India for continued aid, urges Delhi to attend Switzerland peace meet
Ukraine’s president hailed India's continued humanitarian assistance for the people of his nation as the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen their bilateral partnership
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (March 20) held a telephone conversation during which the Ukrainian President thanked India for its support for his country's sovereignty and said that it will be important for Kyiv to see New Delhi attend the inaugural Peace Summit in Switzerland.
It is believed that officials in Switzerland, India, and Ukraine are working together to make India’s participation at the peace summit this summer a reality. It is learnt that Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba is planning a visit to New Delhi next week.
Sources say that China has indicated that it may attend the summit.
Zelenskyy hails India’s humanitarian assistance
Zelenskyy hailed India's continued humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine as the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen their bilateral partnership in various spheres.
Since February 2022, India has sent at least 12 consignments amounting to almost 100 tonnes of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighbouring countries that included medical equipment, medicines, tents, tarpaulin, and blankets.
"I spoke with Prime Minister @NarendraModi to express gratitude for India's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, humanitarian aid, and active participation in Peace Formula meetings," said Zelenskyy in a post on X.
"We discussed the development of our bilateral relations, which should include a meeting of our teams and a session of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation in New Delhi in the nearest future," he added.
Ukraine keen to strengthen economic ties
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is interested in strengthening trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade.
"Ukraine also wishes to welcome Indian students back to Ukrainian educational institutions," he added.
India has been maintaining that the Russia-Ukraine conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi congratulates Putin on re-election
Modi also spoke to Putin on Wednesday (March 20) and congratulated him on his re-election.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that PM Modi, while discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, had reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward.
Putin recorded a landslide victory in Russia's election, cementing his already tight grip on power. The result on Monday (March 18) showed that the three other candidates who ran - but had not openly challenged Putin - won 4.31, 3.85, and 3.20 per cent of the vote.
Putin has served four terms as Russian President, having been elected in 2000, 2004, 2012, and 2018. The Western countries have called the recently-concluded Russian elections as “incredibly undemocratic”.
(With agency inputs)
