Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving no stone unturned in his attempts to ensure that his administration evacuates all nationals stranded in war-hit Ukraine.
Since the offensive began on 24 February, he has been in constant touch with the leaders of both countries — Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and urging them to support India’s attempts at evacuating its citizens from the conflict zone.
As the prime minister held talks with both the leaders on Monday, we take a look back at his ties with both leaders and what they have spoken to with one another on the issue.
In the conversation, Narendra Modi stressed the importance of the safe evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine’s Sumy city at the earliest. He also urged him to hold direct talks with President Zelensky of Ukraine, in addition to the ongoing negotiations between their teams.
Government sources added that Prime Minister Modi appreciated the announcement of ceasefire and establishment of humanitarian corridors in parts of Ukraine, including Sumy.
According to an NDTV report, President Putin reportedly assured Modi of all possible cooperation in the evacuation of Indian nationals from the war-torn country.
This is the third conversation between the two leaders, who share a good rapport, since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
Earlier, the two leaders had spoken on 2 March during which they discussed the evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin statement, “Putin stressed that all the necessary instructions had been given and that the Russian military was doing everything possible to ensure the safe removal of Indian citizens from the war zone and their return to their homeland”.
“The Russian side, in particular, is trying to organise an urgent evacuation of a group of Indian students from Kharkov (the Russian name of Kharkiv) through the humanitarian corridor along the shortest route to Russia,” it said.
“At the same time, according to the latest information, these students are actually taken hostage by the Ukrainian security forces, who use them as a human shield and in every possible way prevent them from leaving for Russian territory. Responsibility in this case lies entirely with the Kiev authorities,” it said.
Prior to this, Modi had spoken to the Russian strong man on 25 February, a day after Vladimir Putin had announced the ‘special military operation against Ukraine. In fact, Modi was the first world leader to speak to Putin after the Russian president ordered the military operation in Ukraine.
At that point of time, Modi had called for ‘immediate cessation of violence’ and highlighted that differences between Russia and NATO could only be resolved through ‘honest and sincere’ dialogue.
Many observe that Modi’s repeated phone calls to Putin are an extension of his good and friendly ties with the Russian president.
It can’t be forgotten that Putin had described India as a “great power” and a time-tested friend when he had visited India back in December last year.
“We see India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend…Relations between our countries are developing,” he was quoted as saying at the time.
Reacting to the comments, Narendra Modi had said that the India-Russia friendship had “remained a constant” despite many fundamental changes on the world stage and the two countries had cooperated closely while paying attention to each other’s sensitivities.