Prime Minister Modi: India plays a “dual role” in Russiaʼs war against Ukraine, but wants to achieve peace

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his country is playing a "dual role" in the Russian-Ukrainian war — providing humanitarian support but staying out of the war. Moreover, New Delhi is ready to make an active contribution to achieving peace in Ukraine.

Modi stated this during his visit to Ukraine and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“It never meant that we were just indifferent observers. We have never taken on such a role. We have never been neutral. And from the first day we had our side. Our side was peace," Modi said.

He added that India supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. According to Modi, at a meeting with Russian leader Putin in 2022, he told him that "now is not the era of war." And during his visit to Moscow last month, he emphasized that problems cannot be solved on the battlefield — dialogue and diplomacy are needed. According to him, Russia and Ukraine should sit down together and look for ways out of "this crisis."

Modi emphasized that India is ready to make its "proactive contribution" to the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky added that one of the topics of the meeting with the Prime Minister of India is the Ukrainian Peace Summit — he hopes that the country will be able to join the joint communiqué.

In addition, India seeks to deepen economic ties with Ukraine. The state leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, technology, pharmaceuticals and other fields, and also agreed to strengthen cultural ties.

The head of the Indian Foreign Ministry Subramanyam Jaishankar said that Ukraine and India will focus on restoring joint trade and economic relations, which have recently declined. At the meeting with the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba they discussed the countriesʼ bilateral relations, including trade, economic issues, defense, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and education.

My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great country with the aim of deepening Indian-Ukrainian friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelensky. India firmly believes that peace should always prevail," Modi wrote after the meeting.

• This is the first visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since the country gained independence in 1991. In early July, Modi arrived in Moscow and met with Vladimir Putin for the first time in five years. There he called for peace between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and also asked Putin to release all Indians from the Russian army.
• Earlier, the Bloomberg edition, citing sources, wrote that Modi did not agree to be a mediator in the settlement of Russiaʼs war in Ukraine. However, the country agrees to relay messages between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Volodymyr Putin.