- Saturday, April 20, 2024
The meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima came a day after leaders of the powerful grouping unveiled new sanctions on Moscow for continuing its war in Ukraine.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday (20) held bilateral talks in Hiroshima, Japan, in their first in-person meeting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
The meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima came a day after leaders of the powerful grouping unveiled new sanctions on Moscow for continuing its war in Ukraine.
“PM @narendramodi held talks with President @ZelenskyyUa during the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima,” the Indian prime minister’s office tweeted.
PM @narendramodi held talks with President @ZelenskyyUa during the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/tEk3hWku7a
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 20, 2023
It was not immediately known what transpired in the talks. However, it is widely believed that Zelenskyy sought India’s support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
The Ukrainian president has been trying to drum up support from key countries around the world as Ukrainian forces are reportedly preparing for a major counteroffensive against Russia.
The Modi-Zelenskyy meeting took place over a month after Ukrainian first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India.
During her visit, Dzhaparova handed over a letter to India’s minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.
The letter was written to Modi by Zelenskyy.
Since the Ukraine conflict began in February last year, Modi spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin as well as Zelenskyy a number of times.
In a phone conversation with the Ukrainian president on October 4 last year, Modi said that there can be “no military solution” and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.
At a bilateral meeting with Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16 last year, Modi said, “Today’s era is not of war” and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict.
India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
In New Delhi, Dzhaparova said that India is a global leader and can help in addressing key global challenges and promoting peace, including in her country.
The prime minister arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping in the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The Ukrainian president is also attending the G7 summit following an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping. The group of seven, comprising the US, France, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan, represent the world’s richest democracies. Under its G7 presidency, Japan invited India, which is currently holding the presidency of the G20 grouping, and seven other countries to the summit as guests.
(With PTI inputs)
