Modi urges Zelensky to hold peace talks with Russia

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has urged Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to sit down for talks with Russia to end Moscow's invasion, during a visit to Kyiv a month after hugging Vladimir Putin.

- NAMITA SINGH

Mr Modi, whose visit to Moscow last month was widely criticised, said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace and called for dialogue at the earliest opportunity. "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,” Mr Modi said.

He urged the two countries to “move in the direction of dialogue”, calling it the “only way to resolve conflict”.

The remarks were made during joint statements, in which both leaders hailed the visit as “historic”. Mr Modi spoke second and Mr Zelensky did not have an opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue. But the Ukrainian leader said in his remarks that “the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine”.

Mr Modi and Mr Zelensky hugged and shook hands as they met at the National Museum of History in Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky said of the meeting that he and Mr Modi “agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation... India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children,” Mr Modi wrote on the social media platform X after the visit. “My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief.”