Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv on August 23, 2024. | Photograph credit score: AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described India as a “huge nation” with a “large affect” on the Russian economic system and mentioned on Friday that if India and Indians “change their perspective” in the direction of Russia, the battle will finish as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin will finish it. Zelensky was referring to India’s “document” offers to acquire oil from Russia.
Acknowledging the talk on India’s vitality purchases from Russia within the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Zelensky, Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar mentioned the Indian facet defined to the Ukrainian facet the vitality market situation and the necessity for costs to stay “affordable and secure”.
In an hour-long interplay with visiting Indian media, Zelensky termed his assembly with Modi as “excellent” and “historic.” One of the essential points through the talks, he mentioned, was India’s buy of oil from Russia.
“Right this moment, many Russian export alternatives are closed, however the nation is open,” he mentioned. “If oil imports are stopped, Putin will face monumental challenges.”
In accordance with him, Putin has a battle economic system and the billions coming from India and China assist him. “We must always cease spending cash to strengthen Russian weapons,” he careworn.
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He mentioned Putin “by no means revered” Modi, which is why Russia bombed a hospital in Ukraine on the similar time the Indian prime minister was in Moscow final month.
Requested if the difficulty of India’s stance on UN resolutions had been mentioned, he mentioned no. “We’re not completely satisfied that we didn’t get India’s assist. Now we now have to speak earlier than the resolutions. We should not have time to take a look at the previous. I need to construct one thing good, one thing constructive,” he mentioned.
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“I actually need your nation to be on our facet,” Zelensky continued, with out making any form of abyss: “Maybe your nation is vital to this…”
Stating that there must be a win-win state of affairs between the 2 international locations, the Ukrainian president mentioned there are alternatives for collaboration, together with co-development and co-production, in high-tech sectors equivalent to defence.
Jaishankar famous that many vitality producers have been sanctioned, making the market doubtlessly very troublesome. “That’s the reason at this time there’s an obligation, in reality not simply an obligation, however it’s within the curiosity of the worldwide economic system as an entire that costs stay affordable and secure,” he mentioned throughout a press convention.
Noting that India is a giant shopper and importer of oil, Jaishankar mentioned, “There’s an oil technique to purchase oil. There’s a market technique to purchase oil. So, the numbers of the place we get our oil imports go up and down. It will depend on the state of the market. However positively… I believe the truth that the market is tight, that at this time huge suppliers like Iran and Venezuela, which used to provide India, are constrained from working freely within the markets, I believe that could be a issue that must be taken into consideration,” he added.
In response to a different query, Zelensky mentioned that not one of the Indians preventing within the Russian military are in captivity. “If I do know that we now have them, I’ll launch them,” he added.