Only recently, India’s head of government hugged the Russian president in Moscow. This was met with strong criticism from Kiev. Now Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wants to receive Modi himself.
Several weeks after a visit to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to travel to Ukraine – for the first time since the start of Russia’s war of aggression. The 73-year-old will travel to Ukraine on Friday after a two-day visit to Poland, the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi announced. The presidential office in Kiev also confirmed the visit. In particular, talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on bilateral and multilateral cooperation are planned, it said. The signing of several agreements is expected. The presidential office did not provide any details.
India is neutral in the Russian war of aggression, does not support Western sanctions against Moscow and repeatedly advocates a conflict resolution through dialogue. The country maintains good relations with the West and Moscow and has increased its import of cheap oil from Russia since the beginning of the war. India is also heavily dependent on Russia for its military equipment, even if the South Asian country is trying to reduce this dependence.
Modi visited Moscow in July – also for the first time since the start of Russia’s war of aggression. The visit took place shortly after his re-election as head of government, which Russian media interpreted at the time as a sign of appreciation for relations with Russia. Images of the meeting, during which Modi and Putin hugged, went viral. Zelenskyy condemned the visit at the time.
