The world watched the invasion of Ukraine being unfolded by Russia and all leaders around the globe were seen condemning this attack including the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi who called up the Russian President and appealed to him for an immediate end to the violence.
This was seen as an important signal to the Western bloc which has been pushing India to condemn the actions of Russia. The President of the US has called this an unprovoked and unjustified attack launched by the Russian military forces and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called it barbaric stating that the Russian President’s hands were stained with Ukrainian blood now. As per the reports by the Prime Minister’s Office, Putin had briefed Modi about the latest developments regarding Ukraine.
Prime Minister was seen reiterating his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and NATO could only be resolved through diplomatic and sincere dialogue between the two. Modi appealed for an immediate end to the violence and has called for concerted efforts from all sides to go back to the path of diplomacy, the reports further added. After the call happened, the US President was asked if India was in sync with the United States on this issue, to which President Biden said that they were in consultations with India and it had not been resolved.
This was the first time, India was seen framing the conflict between Russia and NATO group and not just Ukraine and Russia. The Kremlin, in a late-night statement on Thursday, said that President Putin has outlined the fundamental assessments of Kyiv’s aggression against the civilian population located in the Donbas region and several years of destructive policy was meant to break the Minsk Agreements. The statement further added that Modi had thanked Putin for the clarification and asked for his assistance as well in securing the Indian citizens that are currently stranded in Ukraine. Putin said that necessary actions would be given.
India had so far been advocating for diplomacy and this immediate call to end violence has sent signals to the West that India does not stand in the favour of war. It is also being stated that the appeal and cessation of violence were first made to the Russian President rather than any Western power signals that the war was started by Russia and it was up to the President to find a way out.
The call to the Russian President took place after the Prime Minister of India had chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on security with the top ministers of the country such as Rajnath Singh, (Defence Minister) S Jaishankar (External Affairs Minister), and Ajit Doval. During his call, Prime Minister Modi had also raised concerns about the safety of the Indian citizens specifically the Indian students and he conveyed that India’s highest priority was their safe exit and return to India.
