Modi meets Zelenskyy in US; reaffirms support for peaceful resolution

New Delhi, New York: A month after his historic visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting in New York on Tuesday (IST) that “India remains open to provide all support within its means to facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution of the conflict”, adding “India’s clear, consistent and constructive approach was in favour of a peaceful resolution of the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue as well as engagement between all stakeholders”.

At the meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future at the UN, New Delhi said that the situation in Ukraine as well as the way forward on pursuing a path to peace figured prominently in their discussions.

At a special briefing on Tuesday hours before Modi left for New Delhi, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said while the possibility of a second peace summit (after the first one in Switzerland in mid-June) figured in the talks, “we are not, right now, at a stage where the second peace summit can be discussed in any detail”.

The foreign secretary also said Modi’s meeting demonstrates his commitment to finding a way forward and to contributing in any way possible to a resolution of this conflict. He added that India’s “voice in support of peace and a path to peace through dialogue and diplomacy was not a new one”, and that “it is natural for us to assume this role”.

After the meeting, the Ukraine President said discussions focused on “implementing the peace formula and preparing for the second peace summit”, adding he was “grateful for the clear support (by India) of our sovereignty and territorial integrity”. He also said the two leaders “had a substantive discussion on the available opportunities”.

It may be noted that as India is clearly playing peacemaker and is working along with other nations for an acceptable peace formula to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the foreign secretary had earlier said India is having a “set of conversations” with its important partners on the issue of the conflict that had raged on for more than two and a half years.

This was the third in-person meeting between the two leaders in the last four months, which included Modi’s high-profile visit to Ukraine when he was hosted by President Zelenskyy, and also their earlier meeting in June on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting in Italy.

India has strong relations with both its time-tested friend Russia and Ukraine and is therefore in a strong position to strive as peacemaker with both sides towards peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Modi had also visited Russia in July and will visit that country again next month for the Brics summit in Kazan. Misri, meanwhile, also said: “Modi’s meeting with Zelenskyy also reflects his own, in a sense, commitment to this effort. Because he’s deeply concerned by this conflict, not just in terms of the human toll, something he had recognised, but also in terms of the toll that it is taking on the world at large, and especially on countries in the Global South.”