The Indian authorities has sought to steadiness shut ties with Russia and its Western allies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to Ukraine this week and meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a number of weeks after assembly Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Modi’s go to, the primary by an Indian chief in additional than 30 years, will happen on Friday, India’s international ministry stated on Monday.
Modi’s go to will present a possibility for the 2 leaders to debate cooperation in defence, financial and commerce ties, science and know-how and different sectors, Tanmaya Lal, a senior official within the Ministry of Exterior Affairs, stated at a briefing in New Delhi.
Ukraine’s Presidential Workplace additionally introduced Modi’s journey, saying it’s his first go to throughout which the 2 leaders will signal a number of cooperation paperwork and focus on “problems with bilateral and multilateral cooperation.”
Modi’s journey to Ukraine comes a month after Zelensky criticised his two-day go to to Moscow in July, when he met Putin on the day Russian missiles struck Ukraine, killing dozens of individuals.
Zelenskyy had described the assembly as a “large disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the chief of the world’s largest democracy hugging the world’s bloodiest prison in Moscow on a day like this.” He additionally rebuked Modi for hugging Putin throughout their assembly.
Modi didn’t straight deal with the assaults throughout his journey, however alluded to the bloodshed whereas discussing his assembly with Putin.
“Whether or not it’s a conflict, a combat or a terrorist assault, each one that believes in humanity, when a life is misplaced, feels ache,” Modi stated. “When harmless kids are killed, once we see harmless kids dying, the guts aches. And that ache could be very horrible.”
‘Dialogue and diplomacy’
India has shied away from condemning the Russian invasion and has as an alternative urged Russia and Ukraine to resolve the battle by way of diplomacy.
“The battle continues and we consider that the answer can solely come by way of dialogue and diplomacy,” Lal stated on Monday.
To this point, Modi’s authorities has sought to steadiness shut ties with Russia and its Western allies similar to the US, placing strain on India to take a extra decisive stance in opposition to Russia’s conflict, with little success.
India is the world’s largest purchaser of Russian arms and has sought to money in on cheaper Russian oil as the US and European international locations search to restrict the Russian vitality sector’s entry to the worldwide market.
India’s stance – looking for shut ties with each the West and Russia – is shared by many non-Western nations which have expressed disapproval of Russia’s conflict however reject what they see as a binary selection between two competing sides.
Others discover appeals to points similar to human rights and worldwide legislation unconvincing or hypocritical, and level to continued Western help for Israel’s conflict in Gaza amid allegations of widespread rights violations.
America, which sees India as a key accomplice in its efforts to counter China’s affect in Asia, has largely embraced Modi’s need to take care of pleasant relations with Russia.
“This isn’t a zero-sum sport,” Lal stated, including that peace in Ukraine can solely be achieved by way of “a negotiated answer.”
