Hours after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India is ready to help end the war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the offer, saying Ukrainians are grateful to India for its commitment.
“I met with India’s Minister of External Affairs @DrSJaishankar. We discussed important issues. We are grateful to India for its commitment to ending this unjust war – Russia’s war against Ukraine," said the Ukrainian leader.
Zelenskyy also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2022 remarks to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "now is not an era of war", saying, "This certainly must not be a time of war. Peace is needed. This is India’s clear position."
The meeting comes two days after PM Modi urged Putin to end the war during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek.
"Every day spent in war pushes humanity back, and every step taken towards peace fills humanity with new hope and enthusiasm," Modi said on Monday, declaring that endless war must now give way to the end of war.
Responding to Modi's call for peace, Putin said, "Thank you very much, prime minister. We are moving forward along this path."
This could signal Kremlin's readiness to come back to the negotiation table after four-and-a-half years of prolonged conflict that has resulted in heavy military losses on both sides with no clear victory.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar during a meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv said that "India has consistently maintained that this is not an era of war, and that solutions will not emerge from the battlefield."
"Every passing day of conflict only means more deaths and more destruction. Understandably, it is for the parties involved to find a way. But, if India can be of any help in any manner, we are ready," he said. "In consonance with Prime Minister Modi's call for an end to war, my visit has a focus on the prospects of dialogue and diplomacy. I will be taking back the views and positions shared today by the Ukrainian side."
