NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi may visit Kyiv next month in another balancing act on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, hoping it will calm frayed nerves in Washington and major European capitals which have been dismayed by the timing of his visit to Russia earlier this month. According to diplomatic sources, both sides are in talks to finalise a date for the visit in the last week of August.
If it happens, it will be the first visit by an Indian PM to Ukraine.It will come in the middle of some serious strife, including the “tough conversations” that the US says it is having with India, over Modi’s embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin which coincided with the NATO summit in Washington and also the reported bombing of a children’s hospital in Kyiv by Russia. That Modi chose Russia for his first bilateral visit since the inauguration of his third term also fuelled the outrage.
Government sources defended the talks for Modi’s visit saying it had been in the works for a while after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited the PM. Organising the visit will also be a logistical challenge, as a source said. Like other leaders who have visited Ukraine, Modi will probably have to undertake an overnight train journey from Poland to reach the Ukrainian capital. A few of the dates under discussion are close to August 24, Ukraine’s national day, and it remains to be seen if India will want the visit to coincide with that.
Shortly after images of the Modi-Putin hug were beamed across the world, Zelenskyy had said that on a day Russia had bombed a children’s hospital, the embrace was not just a huge disappointment but also a devastating blow to peace efforts. India did express its displeasure to Ukraine over the remarks but without publicly saying so. Foreign minister S Jaishankar also spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba after Modi returned from Russia.
Following the remarks by Zelenskyy, and with the US raising concerns even in the middle of the Russia visit, Modi had specifically raised the issue of violence against children with Putin the next morning.
Apart from China, India remains the only major country to have not condemned Russia explicitly for its aggression against Ukraine. While India’s position on the war has been seen by many as pro-Russia neutrality, India has maintained since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022 that it wants to be able to reach out to both sides to emphasise the significance of dialogue and diplomacy in resolving the conflict.
India has so far avoided mediating itself between the 2 parties but has repeatedly said it will offer all possible support within its means for restoration of peace and emphasised the role of dialogue in reaching a peaceful settlement. India’s extremely nuanced approach was further highlighted at the recent Swiss peace summit in which, unlike China, it participated but didn’t endorse the outcome document because Russia wasn’t invited to the summit.
For the US and others though, the timing of Modi’s visit seems to have acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back, with the Biden administration publicly ticking off India. While NSA Jake Sullivan reminded the Indian government Russia will always choose China over India, US ambassador Eric Garcetti said after Modi returned from his visit that India-US ties are not deep enough to be taken for granted by either side.
If it happens, it will be the first visit by an Indian PM to Ukraine.It will come in the middle of some serious strife, including the “tough conversations” that the US says it is having with India, over Modi’s embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin which coincided with the NATO summit in Washington and also the reported bombing of a children’s hospital in Kyiv by Russia. That Modi chose Russia for his first bilateral visit since the inauguration of his third term also fuelled the outrage.
Government sources defended the talks for Modi’s visit saying it had been in the works for a while after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited the PM. Organising the visit will also be a logistical challenge, as a source said. Like other leaders who have visited Ukraine, Modi will probably have to undertake an overnight train journey from Poland to reach the Ukrainian capital. A few of the dates under discussion are close to August 24, Ukraine’s national day, and it remains to be seen if India will want the visit to coincide with that.
Shortly after images of the Modi-Putin hug were beamed across the world, Zelenskyy had said that on a day Russia had bombed a children’s hospital, the embrace was not just a huge disappointment but also a devastating blow to peace efforts. India did express its displeasure to Ukraine over the remarks but without publicly saying so. Foreign minister S Jaishankar also spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba after Modi returned from Russia.
Following the remarks by Zelenskyy, and with the US raising concerns even in the middle of the Russia visit, Modi had specifically raised the issue of violence against children with Putin the next morning.
Apart from China, India remains the only major country to have not condemned Russia explicitly for its aggression against Ukraine. While India’s position on the war has been seen by many as pro-Russia neutrality, India has maintained since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022 that it wants to be able to reach out to both sides to emphasise the significance of dialogue and diplomacy in resolving the conflict.
India has so far avoided mediating itself between the 2 parties but has repeatedly said it will offer all possible support within its means for restoration of peace and emphasised the role of dialogue in reaching a peaceful settlement. India’s extremely nuanced approach was further highlighted at the recent Swiss peace summit in which, unlike China, it participated but didn’t endorse the outcome document because Russia wasn’t invited to the summit.
For the US and others though, the timing of Modi’s visit seems to have acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back, with the Biden administration publicly ticking off India. While NSA Jake Sullivan reminded the Indian government Russia will always choose China over India, US ambassador Eric Garcetti said after Modi returned from his visit that India-US ties are not deep enough to be taken for granted by either side.