Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict in his country in February last year and said India would do whatever it could for the resolution of the war.
The two leaders met in Hiroshima on the margins of the G7 Summit. The PM was assisted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval while Zelenskyy was assisted by his top aides at the meeting.
The prime minister noted that he has been talking to the Ukrainian leader on the phone from time to time but they were getting an opportunity to meet in person after the Glasgow COP-26 meeting in November 2021.
“The war in Ukraine is a big issue for the entire world. Its repercussions have been felt across the globe. But I don’t consider it to be just an issue of economy and politics; for me, it is an issue of humanity, human values.” He told President Zelenskyy that the latter knew more than him about the pain of war.
The PM said last year when Indian students returned from Ukraine after the war started and narrated stories about the conflict, he could imagine the plight of President Zelenskyy and his people.
”I can assure that for its (war) resolution, India, particularly I personally, will do whatever we can,” he assured Zelenskyy.
The PM arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping in the first leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Like India, Ukraine is attending the G7 Summit as a guest country following an invitation by Japan, the current chair of the powerful grouping.
Modi also held bilateral talks with a number of other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, on the margins of the G7 engagements.