Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wrote to PM Modi, sought humanitarian aid from India

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, April 12, 2023: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking India’s intervention in the Russia-Ukraine war and requesting additional humanitarian aid including medical equipment. The letter was handed over by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova to Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, during her four-day visit to India.

The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral and global issues of mutual interest. Meenakshi Lekhi said Ukraine has been assured of "enhanced humanitarian assistance." Dzhaparova described the meeting as "fruitful".

Emine Dzhaparova met Meenakshi Lekhi on Tuesday ahead of her address at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). She is the first high-ranking Ukrainian official to visit India ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February last year.

While responding to a question after her address at the ICWA, Dzhaparova said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would like to address the G20 summit in India. The Ukrainian President had addressed the G20 Bali summit via video conference.

Speaking on the ongoing war with Ukraine, the deputy foreign minister said as a global leader and current chair of the G20, India can play a greater role in bringing peace and hoped that Indian officials would visit Kyiv soon.

Since the war with Russia began in February last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a number of times.

In a phone conversation with President Zelenskyy on October 4 last year, PM Modi said that there can be "no military solution" and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

Earlier in September, PM Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In the first meeting between the two leaders since the war broke out, PM Modi told Putin that " today’s era is not of war" and “dialogue” was the only way forward.

Courtesy: India Today