Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy that India remains open to giving all support within its means to facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution of the conflict, according to a ministry of external affairs statement issued after the two leaders met in New York on the sidelines of the UN Future Summit on Monday. India has been insisting on Russia’s presence in peace talks for durable peace.
Later, briefing reporters, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said, “Our prime minister recalled his visit to Kyiv, their discussions on all matters, the bilateral issues, as well as issues surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. President Zelenskyy was very appreciative of India’s attention to these issues and said that the prime minister’s visit had been highly appreciated. And he thanked the prime minister for efforts that he was making for peace and a pathway to finding a way out of this conflict.”
Modi also mentioned during his conversation with Zelenskyy that he has spoken to leaders of different countries, and that talks on bringing an end to the conflict are ongoing.
“As a result of the prime minister’s visit to Kyiv, you are following the development since then, where the prime minister subsequently has been in touch with President Putin in Russia, with President Biden here in the US, our National Security Adviser visited Russia also recently. So, there are a number of conversations that are going on. The attempt in all of these is to try and move towards some specifics,” Misri said.
He said: “I think we are not, right now, at a stage where the second Peace Summit can be discussed in any detail. I think there is a lot of work that remains to be done before that. So there was not a great deal of discussion on that specific issue.”