By Enyichukwu Enemanna
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, weeks after meeting with Russian leader, Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The visit to Kyiv is the first by an Indian leader since Ukraine left the Soviet Union in 1991. Modi’s visit comes at the invitation of Zelenskyy, who was angered by Modi’s visit to Moscow early last month.
In a joint statement to reporters ahead of their talks, Modi said he had come to Kyiv with a message of peace, and he called for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine at the earliest opportunity.
India and Russia have a long-standing relationship, and had been holding annual summits since 2000.
Both countries are members of BRICS bloc, an influential inter-governmental body.
Modi told Zelenskyy that India was ready to play an active role in any efforts toward peace and said he would do that personally, as a friend.
“The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue 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 in the joint statement.
Later, as the two leaders sat before reporters, Modi said that India has not been a neutral or an indifferent bystander when it came to Ukraine’s war with Russia. “We have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace,” Modi said.
Following their talks, Modi and Zelenskyy signed four bilateral agreements for cooperation in agriculture, the food industry, medicine, and culture and humanitarian assistance.
Before holding talks, the two leaders honoured the memory of children killed in the conflict with Russia.
