PM Modi is one of the few leaders capable of engaging with kyiv and Moscow: EAM Jaishankar

YEARS |
Updated: October 06, 2024 4:38 p.m. EAST

New Delhi [India]October 6 (ANI): Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Modi today is one of few leaders in the world able to commit. with Moscow and kyiv.
The foreign minister was addressing the Kautilya Economic Conclave on Sunday, where he highlighted the role that India played in finding a point of convergence between the two sides in the conflict.
“As for Ukraine, over the past few months, Prime Minister Modi has met President Zelensky three times. He has met Russian President Putin once. He has spoken to him more often and the NSA (adviser to National Security) and I have been in touch,” Jaishankar said.
He added: “The reason why we are doing this is that we are one of the few countries and Prime Minister Modi is one of the few leaders who today has the opportunity to go to kyiv and Moscow and talking to both leaders and seeing what are their common goals, is there something that we can start or is there a convergence, an intersection that we can see that can become. a thread that you can pick up and try to expand on and see if things could be better?
Prime Minister Modi visited Russia in July and Ukraine in August this year. He also visited Zelensky in New York last month, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, which was their third meeting in about three months.
India has maintained a strong stance in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. India also expressed its willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate a rapid return to peace.
New Delhi underlined the need for sincere and practical engagement among all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will be widely accepted and contribute to the rapid restoration of peace in the Ukrainian conflict which began in February 2022.
In an important statement, Prime Minister Modi told President Putin that “this is not the era of war” on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan in 2022. This statement was even made during the communiqué of the G20 under the Indian presidency.
Furthermore, speaking about the escalating situation in the Middle East, Jaishankar noted that the conflict is even more difficult due to the many parties involved and their lack of recognition of their role in the conflict.
“The Middle East is, in some ways, trickier. There are more parties, but not all of them recognize the role they play in what they do,” he said.
The foreign minister acknowledged India's role in bridging gaps between countries that do not communicate with each other.
“It's not that we haven't been involved. On several occasions we have played some role in communicating between countries that don't communicate with each other. The Global South feels the pain of a society much more “They would like someone to do something about it, as long as there is a country like India that understands their concerns and is able to address them,” he said. Jaishankar said.
“They clearly support a lot of our initiatives. This has been very visible at the UN. It's important that we are really connected to all the major players. We are seen as a country with a greater sense of responsibility towards global politics and this is part of India’s own evolution,” he added.
Earlier on Saturday, Jaishankar, at the Sardar Patel Conference on Governance organized by the IC Center for Governance, expressed concerns over rising tensions in the Middle East.
“The Middle East is not an opportunity. The Middle East is a cause of great concern and deep concern. The conflict is expanding – what we saw as a terrorist attack, then the response, then we given what happened in Gaza, now you see it in exchange in Lebanon, between Israel and Iran,” the foreign minister said.
Highlighting the repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East, Jaishankar noted that the escalation of tensions has led to a significant increase in transportation and insurance rates, thereby affecting global trade. “The Houthis are shooting at the Red Sea. It's actually costing us. It's not that someone is neutral and you're taking advantage of it. Transportation rates have gone up. Insurance rates have gone up. Exports and foreign trade were affected. Oil prices increased. (ANI)