• Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Diplomacy

Way to peace is through ‘dialogue, diplomacy’: Modi to Zelenskyy at G7

‘Had a very productive meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. India is eager to further cement bilateral relations with Ukraine,’ Modi later said on X in both English and Ukrainian.

Indian PM Narendra Modi shakes hands with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, in Apulia, Italy, on June 14, 2024. (ANI Photo)

By: Shubham Ghosh

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (14) conveyed to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting that India believes in a “human-centric” approach and that the way to peace is through “dialogue and diplomacy”.

Modi met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the ongoing G7 summit in Italy’s Apulia region.

The Indian leader described the meeting with the Ukrainian president as “very productive” and said India is eager to “further cement” bilateral relations with Ukraine.

“Had a very productive meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. India is eager to further cement bilateral relations with Ukraine,” Modi said on X in both English and Ukrainian.

Read: Modi meets Sunak, other world leaders on G7 sidelines

“Regarding the ongoing hostilities, reiterated that India believes in a human-centric approach and believes that the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, said the two leaders reviewed bilateral relationship and exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine.

Read: Modi, Biden likely to meet on G7 sidelines: Sullivan

“Furthering India-Ukraine partnership! PM @narendramodi met President @ZelenskyyUa of Ukraine on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy,” he said on X.

“The leaders reviewed bilateral relationship and exchanged views on situation in Ukraine. PM conveyed that India continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy,” he added.

Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra were part of Modi’s delegation at the talks.

It is learnt that Zelenskyy briefed Modi on various aspects of the conflict.

Modi had met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the previous G7 summit in Hiroshima in May last year as well. India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. The Indian PM had said on the occasion that the conflict in Ukraine, which started in February 2022, has had a significant impact on the entire world. He also said that for him, the issue was more concerned with humanity and human values than political or economic.

He also appreciated Ukraine’s cooperation in evacuating Indian students who were stranded in Ukraine safely and welcomed the decision by Ukrainian institutions to hold examinations in India for the affected students.

The latest meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy came ahead of the Swiss Peace Summit to be held in Bürgenstock in Lucerne this weekend. India on Wednesday said it will participate in the upcoming peace summit on the Ukraine conflict at an “appropriate level”.

Switzerland had invited Modi to attend it but it is learnt that a senior diplomat will represent India at the summit.

(With PTI inputs)

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