Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reiterated his call for early cessation of violence in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to peace efforts.
The Indian side has repeatedly called for respecting the UN Charter and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. In his phone conversations with Russian and Ukrainian presidents in recent weeks, PM Modi has called for an end to the hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.Lavrov met PM Modi after his talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. The interaction with the prime minister was significant as Modi has not met any of the Western leaders or senior officials who have travelled to New Delhi in the past two weeks for consultations on the Ukraine crisis.
Addressing a news conference, Lavrov said no pressure can affect Russia’s partnership with India, whose foreign policy reflects the country’s independence and focus on legitimate national interests. He said his talks with Jaishankar too reflected the specially privileged strategic partnership forged with India over many decades and bilateral cooperation in many areas, ranging from defence to investments.
“I believe that India’s foreign policy is characterised by independence and the concentration on the real national legitimate interests,” he said, adding that Russia has a similar policy and “this makes us…good friends and old partners”. The two countries always respect each other’s interests and try to accommodate such interests, he said.
