We encourage a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, India says
Firefighters work at the site after a Russian attack in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, March 21, 2024. About 30 cruise and ballistic missiles were shot down over Kiev (Photo: PTI)
India said on Thursday it continues to encourage a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through “dialogue and diplomacy”.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in response to a question at a press conference on India’s position at the inaugural Peace Summit in Switzerland.
“We continue to encourage a peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, and remain open to all possible ways and means to achieve this goal,” he said.
His comments came on a day when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived here on his first visit to India. Kuleba said bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and India is “important” and will be strengthened.
Replying to a query on the number of Indians who have been ‘duped’ by agents and sent to Russia to join the armed forces, the MEA spokesperson said, “We are in constant touch with the Russian authorities, we urge , we took it up strongly for them. to release and discharge our nationals as quickly as possible.”
“On the death toll, I had also told you last time that we know that two people have died, their remains have come to India and have been sent to their relatives, and so two (Indian) people have died in the conflict “, he said.
On March 8, Jaiswal had said that several Indians had been “duped” into working with the Russian army and that New Delhi had vigorously discussed the matter with Moscow for their early release.
He had appealed to Indian nationals not to be “influenced” by officers’ offers for support jobs in the Russian army, saying it is fraught with dangers and risks to life.
His comments during his weekly media briefing came days after the killing of 30-year-old Indian national Mohammed Asfan from Hyderabad, who was tricked into joining Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Indian Embassy in Moscow had earlier confirmed Asfan’s death in a post on X without mentioning the reason or circumstances behind his death.
Asfan was the second Indian to be killed following the death of Hemal Ashwinbhai Mangukiya, a 23-year-old resident of Gujarat. Mangukiya died in a Ukrainian airstrike last month while serving as a security aide in the Donetsk region.
Kuleba’s two-day visit comes amid efforts to find a peaceful solution to the more than two-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had separate talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on March 20 and asserted that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Modi had spoken to Putin over phone to congratulate him on winning a fifth term in the recent elections and then placed a call to Zelenskyy to convey India’s “constant support” for all efforts towards peace and early termination from the war. ongoing conflict.
During the phone call, the Ukrainian President thanked India for supporting his country’s sovereignty and said it would be important for Kyiv to see New Delhi attend the first Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Jaiswal, in response to a question about Kuleba’s visit, said there will be a “bilateral consultation with the External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) in which they will discuss a range of issues that are within the domain of bilateral relations”.
And they will also “review the Intergovernmental Commission that was held earlier,” he said.
The two leaders will also discuss regional and global issues of common interest, Jaiswal said, adding that several other commitments are in the pipeline for the Ukrainian foreign minister.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: March 29, 2024 | 6:48 am IST