Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday outlined his country’s “willingness to contribute in all possible ways” to ending the war in Ukraine, after a historic meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
In a joint statement with Zelensky, Modi “reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions.”
The statement said Ukraine conveyed its belief that a communiqué from the June peace talks in Switzerland – which India attended without signing the final declaration – should be the basis for future negotiations.
The leaders also emphasized the importance of the UN Charter, with its “respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.”
“This conflict must end, we believe,” said Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in a press conference following the meeting.
“We expect both sides to work out a solution,” he added.
Jaishankar said that the outraged reaction in some countries to a photo of Modi embracing Putin in July was due to a “cultural gap which people in the West may not understand.”
“Today, Zelensky hugged PM Modi as well,” he stated.
