New Delhi has reportedly summoned the ambassador of Ukraine over comments made by Vladimir Zelensky last week about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The summoning of the Ukrainian diplomat by the Indian foreign ministry on Monday indicates New Delhi’s “displeasure” with Zelensky’s comments against Modi, newspaper The Economic Times reported on Tuesday. It has also postponed a meeting on culture with Ukraine against the backdrop of the incident, according to the report.
Last week, Zelensky called the visit to Moscow, Modi’s first since the outbreak of the conflict and also his first bilateral foreign visit after assuming the office for the third time, a “devastating blow to peace efforts.” The Indian premier’s visit coincided with a deadly strike at a children’s hospital in Kiev, where a missile killed two people and injured dozens more, which Zelensky blamed on Russia.
In comments about the tragedy at the children’s hospital, Zelensky tweeted: “It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”
Moscow earlier denied Kiev’s allegations, insisting that it has never targeted civilian facilities. The hospital was in fact struck by a Ukrainian air-defense missile and Kiev was deliberately using a tragedy for publicity ahead of important international events like the NATO summit in Washington.
Modi, during his visit to Moscow, insisted that there is no “peace on the battlefield” and solutions to the war “can only be found through dialogue.” He also told Putin that “whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity is pained when there is loss of lives.”
The Indian leader has also met Zelensky, briefly, during the G7 Summit last month. Following the meeting, he reiterated New Delhi’s belief in a human-centric approach. Days later, at the ‘peace summit’ held in Switzerland, to which Russia wasn’t invited, the Indian delegation refused to sign the final document. India has insisted that Moscow must be a part of the negotiations.
Ukraine has been trying to foster closer ties with India. Earlier this year, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba paid a visit there to seek support for the Swiss-hosted ‘peace summit.’ In his interview with Indian media, the minister claimed that New Delhi’s ties with Russia “have no future.”
Historically, ties between New Delhi and Kiev have been lukewarm, mainly over Ukraine’s condemnation of India’s nuclear test in 1998. Last year, the Ukrainian defense ministry triggered an angry reaction in India after it used an image of the Hindu goddess Kali in a propaganda post. In another incident, key aide to Zelensky Mikhail Podoliak caused outrage by claiming that India and China exhibit “weak intellectual potential” in the context of global affairs.
Despite scrutiny from its allies in the West, New Delhi has continued its engagement with Moscow. Last year, bilateral trade soared to $65 billion, largely on the back of India’s increased purchase of Russian oil and coal. Last week, the countries raised their bilateral-trade target to $100 billion by 2030.
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