Indian leader Narendra Modi has arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he is set for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that will be keenly watched in Russia as its assault on its neighbor grinds on. <\/p>\n
Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko confirmed Modi\u2019s arrival in a post on Telegram Friday. <\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s visit, the first by an Indian leader since Ukrainian independence, comes just weeks after he traveled to Moscow in a symbolic first overseas trip of his new term as leader, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin that were criticized by Kyiv. <\/p>\n
New Delhi has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine but has refrained from condemning Russia\u2019s invasion as it seeks to maintain relations with Moscow \u2013 a major supplier of its arms and a longstanding partner it sees as key to balancing its strained relationship with China. <\/p>\n
India has also acted as an economic lifeline for Russia, ramping up purchases of its crude oil after countries around the world slapped sanctions on Moscow, isolating it economically. <\/p>\n
India overtook China as the world\u2019s biggest importer of Russian oil last month, according to Reuters, citing data from trade and industry sources. <\/p>\n
The Indian leader\u2019s arrival in Kyiv \u2014 a day ahead of Ukraine\u2019s independence day \u2014 follows his two-day trip to Poland, where he elevated India\u2019s ties with the NATO member. Referencing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East during a press conference in Warsaw, Modi reiterated India\u2019s stance that \u201cno problem can be solved on the battlefield.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with its friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support,\u201d Modi said Thursday speaking alongside Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. <\/p>\n
Tusk praised Modi\u2019s \u201cintention to help end the war in Ukraine in a quick, peaceful and fair manner.\u201d <\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s visit to Ukraine also comes at a key inflection point in the two-and-a-half-year war, as Ukrainian forces earlier this month launched an unprecedented offensive into Russian territory that Moscow is scrambling to counter. <\/p>\n
Zelensky and Kyiv officials are urgently working to expand global backing for their peace formula, which is predicated on the withdrawal of Russian troops from their land. The upcoming US presidential election has raised concerns that crucial American backing could be cut if Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has been critical of NATO and US support for Kyiv, is elected. <\/p>\n
Ukraine, throughout the war, has sought to convince countries that maintain close relationships with Russia \u2014 such as India and China \u2014 to push Putin toward Kyiv\u2019s terms for peace. <\/p>\n
But while India attended a Kyiv-backed international peace summit in Switzerland in June, it stopped short of endorsing the gathering\u2019s communique, saying that resolution requires a \u201csincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict.\u201d <\/p>\n
During his visit to Ukraine, Modi is expected to discuss with Zelensky what India\u2019s Foreign Ministry described as \u201cthe entire gamut of bilateral relations,\u201d including trade, infrastructure and defense. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis landmark visit, of course, takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which will also form part of discussions,\u201d the ministry\u2019s secretary for the West, Tanmaya Lal, said Monday. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian presidential office said Modi and Zelensky would \u201cdiscuss issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation\u201d and that documents would be signed. <\/p>\n
Officials from both countries have in recent months expressed interest in restoring trade, which has dropped during the war, according to annual data from Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Modi and Zelensky have met twice on the sidelines of G7 summits since the start of the war, including in June in Italy. <\/p>\n
Zelensky last month condemned Modi\u2019s meeting with Putin, which coincided with a Russian assault on several Ukrainian cities and a deadly strike on a children\u2019s hospital. <\/p>\n
Then, the Ukrainian leader described Modi\u2019s rapport with Putin as a \u201chuge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world\u2019s largest democracy hug the world\u2019s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.\u201d <\/p>\n
Modi did not directly address the strikes at the time, but he made what appeared to be some of his most critical comments to date on the war, saying \u201cany person who believes in humanity is troubled when there are deaths, especially when innocent children die.\u201d <\/p>\n
He also called for a \u201cpath to peace through dialogue.\u201d <\/p>\n
This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Indian leader Narendra Modi has arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he is set…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}