Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on phone today and raised concerns over safety of nuclear installations In the east European nation that is battling Russian forces.
The two leaders spoke nearly two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilisation, calling up some three lakh reservists in a major escalation of his tapering invasion of Ukraine, which he portrayed as a fight to the death with the US and its allies, especially members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO.
“Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] reiterated his call for an early cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy. He expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute to any peace efforts,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement today.
PM Modi said endangerment of nuclear facilities in Ukraine “could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences for public health and the environment.”
The latest escalation came when Mr Putin late last month announced Russia would annex “four new regions” from Ukraine.
India walks a tightrope. It abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council on September 30, which condemned Russia’s “illegal referenda” and annexation of four Ukrainian territories.
India has also been buying Russian oil, which drew criticism from the West. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in a strong statement in August said every country will try to ensure the best deal possible to cushion high oil prices and India was doing exactly the same. Before that, he told reporters in Washington that India’s total oil purchase from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon.