After The Modi Hug, Zelensky Says India Can Help Stop Putin

Photo: Reuters/Gleb Garanich

KYIV (REUTERS/ANI) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 23, expressed confidence that India had a role to bring peace to the conflict ridden region saying, “India will play its role. I think that India began to recognize that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place.”

Earlier, Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 23 to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv.

The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history comes at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022, with Moscow making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.

The optics closely resembled the Indian leader’s visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine where a Russian missile strike hit a children’s hospital on the same day.

“The road to resolution can only be found through dialog and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis,” Modi said.

“I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend,” he said.

It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a presidential election looming in the US, a close Ukrainian ally.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv’s terms, not Russia’s. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia.

The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China. Zelensky urged Modi to sign the summit’s communique, which India has not done.

Modi’s visit to Moscow had prompted Zelensky to criticize the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with a missile strike that struck a children’s hospital in Kyiv in July. Modi issued renewed condolences over the strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.

As he welcomed the Indian prime minister to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelensky embraced Modi with a frowning expression before they began talks, or as the BBC said, it could have been the sun in his eyes. But smiles were few and far in between.

As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.

Indian refiners which rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow’s top clients for sea-borne oil since Russia poured troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India’s oil imports.