By R Anil Kumar
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PM speaks to Zelenskyy ahead of meeting with Putin in China
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, H.E. Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy. President Zelenskyy shared his perspective on the recent developments related to Ukraine, a PMO statement said.
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The two leaders spoke a day before PM Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in China’s Tianjin, where they will be attending the SCO summit.
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India to Deliver appropriate signal to Russia, says Zelenskyy after talks with PM Modi
Bengaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone and discussed the latest situation around Kyiv’s war with Moscow, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Saturday, August 30, evening.
The telephonic conversation between the two leaders came just a day before PM Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Zelenskyy’s adversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Tianjin, where they have gathered to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
The Prime Minister thanked Zelenskyy and reaffirmed India’s steadfast and consistent position for peaceful settlement of the conflict and support for efforts aimed at earliest restoration of peace, it added.
“Thank President Zelenskyy for his phone call. We exchanged views on the ongoing conflict, its humanitarian aspect, and efforts to restore peace and stability. India extends full support to all efforts in this direction,” PM Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter) moments after his discussion with the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy, too, sent out an optimistic opinion about his conversation with PM Modi, calling it “a productive and important conversation”.
“I spoke with Prime Minister of India@NarendraModi. I informed about the talks with President Trump in Washington with the participation of European leaders. It was a productive and important conversation, a shared vision among partners on how to achieve real peace. Ukraine reaffirmed its readiness for a meeting with the head of Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
During his recent talks with Trump at the Oval Office, Zelenskyy said that he was open to holding elections once peace is restored in Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, expressed hope, saying he believed progress was being made toward resolving the war in Ukraine and suggested his recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could yield results.
Notably, Russian President Putin, too, dialled PM Modi and shared insights on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on August 15 to discuss a ceasefire over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, Zelenskyy lamented recent Russian strikes on Ukraine, saying Putin seems not to be willing to reach truce.
“Almost two weeks have passed (since Alaska meet), and during this time, when Russia should have been preparing for diplomacy, Moscow has given no positive signal – only carried out cynical strikes on civilian targets and killed dozens of our people,” Zelenskyy added in a long X post, adding “I thank the Prime Minister (Modi) for his words of condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims”.
Zelenskyy said he and PM Modi coordinated their respective positions ahead of the SCO summit. “The end of this war must begin with an immediate ceasefire, with the necessary silence,” he demanded.
The 25th summit of the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is scheduled to begin in China’s Tianjin on Sunday, August 31, and the leaders of India, China and Russia are going to take part in it.
On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi is also scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Putin as the Ukraine war and US tariffs on India are expected to constitute a considerable part of the discussions.
Meanwhile, US President Trump has been trying to bring both Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy across the table to discuss ceasefire terms and bring an end to the war that has been raging for over 3.5 years now.
Trump had promised to end the Ukraine war as he campaigned ahead of the US presidential election in 2024.
