PNN – Before leaving his country for Ukraine to mediate the ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed hope for the return of peace and stability to the relations between the two sides.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing AFP, Narendra Modi wrote on his X account before his trip to Ukraine: As a friend and partner, we hope for the return of peace and stability in the region.
At the beginning of his trip, he will go to Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to meet and consult with the authorities of this country. Modi will then travel to Ukraine from there on Friday.
According to the report, India’s prime minister has struck a delicate balance between maintaining historically warm ties with Russia while forging closer security partnerships with Western countries as a bulwark against regional rival China.
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His administration has avoided outright condemnation of Russia for the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, instead urging both sides to resolve their differences through dialogue.
This will be Modi’s first visit to Ukraine. He said he would discuss with President Volodymyr Zelensky the prospect of a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, as well as deepening friendship between New Delhi and Kiev.
Modi’s visit to Moscow in July came hours after Russia launched heavy airstrikes in several cities across Ukraine and the West claimed that Moscow’s projectiles hit a children’s hospital in Kiev.
Modi was heavily criticized by Zelensky during that trip as he hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin at his residence.
India and Russia have maintained close ties since the Cold War, when the Kremlin became the South Asian country’s main arms supplier.
Russia has also become India’s main supplier of cheap crude oil since the start of the Ukraine conflict. This has dramatically changed their economic relations; While India has benefited billions of dollars from cheap oil and Russia has been able to improve its embargoed economy.