Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going on a visit to war-torn Ukraine on 23 August. During this, he is likely to discuss measures for a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine war with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine has been looking at PM Modi for a long time. It has many expectations from this visit of the Prime Minister. Also, the Ukrainian President is preparing to set his new agenda against Russia. On the other hand, the Kiev visit is a historic visit for PM Modi as an Indian Prime Minister is visiting Ukraine for the first time in more than 30 years after diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. This visit will be based on the recent high-level talks between the leaders.
This visit is also important because Prime Minister Modi visited Russia last month after becoming Prime Minister for the third time. This visit and his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin were criticized by Western countries. Western countries had also demanded that PM Modi condemn the attack on Ukraine during his visit to Moscow but PM Modi did not do so and adopted a balanced stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
In fact, India has been an advocate of resolving this complex issue in a peaceful manner. Whenever this matter has been raised in the UN, India has either kept itself away from it or adopted a balanced approach. The Indian Foreign Ministry has also clearly stated on this that India has maintained a consistent position between the two countries that only diplomacy and dialogue can resolve this conflict (between Russia and Ukraine) and through which permanent peace can be established, hence dialogue is very important.
Let us tell you that despite having a historical friendship with Russia, India has maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite the economic sanctions of Western countries on Moscow, India continued trade with Russia and on the other hand continued to provide essential medicines and assistance to Ukraine. The Prime Minister met the President of Ukraine during the G-Summit in Italy in June this year. In this meeting too, PM Modi advocated a peaceful solution to the war.
Ukraine is not only expecting positive cooperation from India in the case of the Russia-Russia war but is also looking towards India for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. It is expected that during this visit many important documents related to mutual trade between the two countries will be signed. Ukraine is also seeking help from New Delhi to rebuild its economy by inviting investment from Indian companies.