External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday discussed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and its wider ramifications with visiting Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba who favoured deeper cooperation between India and Ukraine in the larger interest of “global development and security architecture”.
At his meetings with Mr Jaishankar, Mr Kuleba, who arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit amidst the ongoing war in Europe, said he looks forward to discussing new areas and projects of cooperation between the two countries “because I do believe that this relationship has a strategic perspective”.
“India and Ukraine have been traditional friends. But I think there is much more that we can do and should do,” he said and noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have spoken to each other on phone several times and always instructed the foreign minister to push the relationship further.
In his remarks, the Indian minister said he assured his Ukrainian counterpart of India’s commitment to strengthen the overall relationship, including bilateral cooperation. “Our discussions focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications. Exchanged views on various initiatives in that context. Spoke as well on global and regional issues of interest to both of us,” Mr Jaishankar wrote on ‘X’.
At the meeting between the two ministers, Mr Jaishankar said the two countries in recent months have had interactions at various levels. “I’m glad to see that some of our bilateral mechanisms have also met. I think this has created a certain momentum in our bilateral relationship. And today, after this discussion in the afternoon, we look forward also to the meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC). Your visit gives us an opportunity, obviously, to understand the situation in your own region,” he said.
The two ministers later co-chaired the IGC meeting at which Mr Jaishankar said the two countries were looking at getting their bilateral trade back to earlier levels in the immediate future.
India has been doing a delicate balancing act ever since hostilities erupted between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022. While favouring dialogue and diplomacy to end the conflict, New Delhi has maintained its traditional ties with Russia even as it continues to send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.