Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go on an official visit to Ukraine this week. He will reach Ukraine capital Kiev on August 23 and will stay there for about seven hours. PM Modi will be on a tour of Poland on 21 and 22 August. After that we will travel 10 hours by train and reach Kiev. This will be the first time in more than 30 years that an Indian Prime Minister will visit Ukraine after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Earlier, PM Modi had visited Russia in July. There is a war going on between Ukraine and Russia for about two and a half years. The armies of both the countries are standing on the battlefield.
On Monday, India said in a statement, we are ready to provide all possible assistance to help find a peaceful solution between Russia and Ukraine. The Ministry of External Affairs announced PM Modi’s visit on August 23 and said, it will be a historic visit. Before his visit to Ukraine, PM Modi will make a two-day visit to Poland on 21 and 22 August. He told that Prime Minister Modi will travel by train from Poland to Kiev, which will take about 10 hours. The return period will also be of the same duration. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ukraine is taking place amid Kiev’s latest military attack on Russian territory.
PM Modi will reach Kiev by train
Before this, many global leaders including US President Joe Biden also reached Kiev by train. These leaders traveled to Kiev by train from the Polish train station near the Ukrainian border. PM Modi’s visit to Kiev comes a few weeks after his high-profile visit to Moscow. At that time, America and some of its western allies also criticized it.
Ukraine trip will take forward continuous engagement
Tanmay Lal, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a media briefing that India has solid and independent relations with both Russia and Ukraine and these partnerships stand on their own. He said that this visit will further the continued engagement between India and Ukraine. Lal said, I would like to say that the purpose of this journey is not to gain one’s own benefit from the loss of others. The Prime Minister had also visited Russia. Many ideas were discussed.
The Prime Minister also met President Zelensky on a few occasions in the past year, he said, and now they will meet again in Ukraine. He said, I would like to say that these are independent comprehensive relations and certainly the ongoing conflict will also be a part of the discussion.
India ready to provide all possible help
When asked about the conflict in Ukraine, Lal said, India is ready to provide all possible assistance and contribution to help find a peaceful solution to this complex issue. He also refused to predict the outcome of the talks between Modi and Zelensky. Lal said, India has maintained a very clear and consistent stance that this conflict can be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue which can lead to lasting peace.
He said, therefore dialogue is absolutely necessary. Lasting peace can be achieved only through options that are acceptable to both sides and can only be resolved through dialogue. India is continuing dialogue with all stakeholders.
India has been advocating diplomacy and dialogue
Lal also said that India has been continuously advocating diplomacy and dialogue to reach a negotiated solution to the Ukraine conflict. Lal said, Prime Minister Modi said that this is not the time for war. Solutions cannot be found on the battlefield. This is a clear and consistent position that India has adopted and we believe that most countries share this view.
On India’s relations with Ukraine, he said that these relations are continuous and long-term. Lal said, this is a historic visit as this will be the first time in more than 30 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries that an Indian Prime Minister will visit Ukraine.
He said the Modi-Zelensky talks are expected to focus on the entire dimension of India-Ukraine relations including agriculture, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, health and education, defense and people-to-people ties.
Zelensky had invited PM Modi to visit Ukraine
Modi had talked to Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy in June. At the meeting, Modi told the Ukrainian President that India will continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and that the path to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi also told Zelensky that India believes in a human-centred approach to finding a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. In the meeting, the President of Ukraine had invited Prime Minister Modi to visit Kiev.