Kyiv/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Kyiv, in the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to Ukraine. The visit comes amid expectations of India playing peacemaker in the dragging Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The PM posted on X that he was accorded a rousing welcome by the Indian community on his arrival.
“Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome.”
The MEA spokesperson posted:
“PM @narendramodi arrived in Kyiv this morning on a landmark official visit.
“This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.”
His visit comes just a month after he was in Moscow in early July and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with both leaders exchanging warm hugs – a sight that raised the hackles of the West.
India has maintained a balance in its ties with Russia and the US, and has been unwilling to budge to Western pressure over its close and long ties with Moscow.
PM Modi has been in talks with the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia in an attempt to make both sides see reason and call off hostilities.
India has maintained that a resolution to the conflict cannot be found in the battlefield, and that dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward for resolution of the conflict.
The Prime Minister’s engagements in Kyiv will touch a range of aspects of bilateral ties including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural, people-to-people exchanges, humanitarian assistance and others. He will also interact with Indian community, including students during the visit. PM’s landmark visit to Ukraine will help further consolidation and expansion of bilateral ties.
