PM Modi arrives in Kyiv in historic visit; to hold talks with President Zelenskyy over Russia-Ukraine war

PM Narendra Modi was welcomed by officials upon his arrival at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday. Pic/PTI

Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Friday on a nearly seven-hour trip to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid Kyiv's fresh military offensive into the Russian territory. This is the first visit by an Indian premier to the East European country.

PM Modi will hold one-on-one as well as delegation-level talks with President Zelenskyy with a focus on ways to find a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Modi's visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow, during which he held extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, largely with a focus on ending the conflict that has been going on since February 2022. Several world leaders have expressed their confidence in PM Modi in bringing both Zelenskyy and Putin onboard and reaching a consensus over ending the war.

PM went to Kyiv from Poland onboard a Rail Force One train that took around 10 hours to reach Ukraine in the second leg of his two-nation trip.

Following talks with Polish PM Donald Tusk on Thursday, Modi said that the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of "deep concern" and that "dialogue and diplomacy" is the way forward to restore peace.

"This is India's firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity," he said.

"We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with its friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support," he said in a media statement in Warsaw.

In June, Modi had met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia and conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine war. He had also said that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy" and that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to find a solution to the conflict.

In the meeting, Zelenskyy invited PM Modi to visit Kyiv.

(With PTI inputs)