PM Modi in Ukraine on August 23, will hold talks with Zelenskyy
Barely six weeks after his visit to Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Ukrainian capital Kyiv on August 23 — his first since the war broke out — and hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
While New Delhi is willing to contribute in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, India believes that “a negotiated settlement acceptable to both sides” is the only solution, officials from the Ministry of External Affairs said Monday.
Before visiting Ukraine, the Prime Minister will travel to Poland on August 21-22, the first visit by an Indian PM to Poland in 45 years. He will cross over to Ukraine from there, in “the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine after establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992,” as per an MEA statement.
Ukraine will form part of discussions, said MEA Secretary (West) Tanmaya Lal, adding that India has always called for diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the conflict. “Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement,” he said.
The MEA’s statement said that the Prime Minister’s engagements in Kyiv will touch a range of aspects of bilateral ties including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural, people-to-people exchanges, humanitarian assistance and others.