Following Modi's visit to Kyiv (video)

On Friday, August 23, in the morning, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine for a visit. This is his first official visit to Kyiv since Ukraine became independent.

During the meeting, Volodymyr Zelensky and Narendra Modi, on the territory of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, together honored the memory of children who died as a result of Russian aggression. Talks between the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of India continued (video) about three hours, said the head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak.

Zelensky met Modi at the Mariinsky Palace, after which a one-on-one meeting began. Yermak noted:

“Then the foreign ministers joined the meeting, as did the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of India and myself, as Chairman of the President's Office. In total, the meeting lasted a record time – almost three hours.”

This was followed by a meeting in a broader format, in which the ministers of Ukraine and India, as well as other members of the delegations, took part. Yermak specified that many topics were discussed at the talks, but the main one was Russia's war against Ukraine. All the fundamental positions of our state were voiced, he noted:

“Our president is a very frank, straightforward person, so all our messages, all our principled positions were voiced to our colleagues from India.”

In turn, Modi told Zelensky how he met with Putin and noted that he would have to negotiate with the Russian Federation. The Indian Prime Minister told the Ukrainian President how a month ago he met with the head of the Kremlin and tried to convince him to stop the war:

“Last month, when I visited Russia, I told Putin very clearly that the problems cannot be solved on the battlefield. The only way to solve the problems is through dialogue and diplomacy. And without wasting any time, we must move in that direction. Both sides will have to sit down together and find a way out of this crisis.”

The Indian prime minister briefly referred to his other meeting with Putin, two years ago in Samarkand, Uzbekistan:

“I told him, looking him in the eye, in front of the press, that this is not an era of war.”

During the meeting, agreements between Ukraine and India on cooperation in the medical, agricultural, humanitarian and cultural spheres were agreed upon. Following the negotiations, four documents were signed.

Also, following the visit, the following was published on the website of the President of Ukraine: Joint Statement by Ukraine and India.

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