Modi Meets Zelensky On Historic Ukraine Visit
Date
8/23/2024 7:23:52 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Kyiv, Ukraine: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenksy on a historic visit to Kyiv on Friday, where he is pushing for a solution to end more than two years of war with Russia.
Modi embraced Zelensky -- who looked visibly emotional -- at the Mariinsky palace in Kyiv, in the first ever visit by an Indian premier to Ukraine.
The Indian leader is casting himself as a possible peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv.
But his visit comes at a dramatic moment in the two-and-a-half year war, with a diplomatic settlement appearing more elusive than ever.
Kyiv's forces are mounting a major incursion into Russia's Kursk region while Moscow's army is advancing in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have seized a swathe of towns and villages in recent weeks.
"No problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said in Poland on Wednesday before heading to Ukraine. India, he said, supports "dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible."
But it is unclear if Modi could be an effective dealmaker. The 73-year-old has good relations with Russia, and met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July.
The Ukrainian leader on Friday said he and Modi had together "honoured the memory of children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression."
"Children of every country deserve to be safe. We must make it possible," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.
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