 "PM Modi may visit Kyiv in August: How India has steered ties with Ukraine amid war with Russia")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ukraine next month. This would be his first trip to the war-torn nation since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
The visit is still in the planning stages and could take place in the third week of August, as per a WION report. Modi will hold talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his expected trip.
The visit to Kyiv would occur over a month after the Indian prime minister met Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Amid PM Modi’s likely trip to Kyiv, let us take a look at India’s ties with the country and how it has navigated its relations with the warring Russia and Ukraine.
India-Ukraine ties
New Delhi has longstanding ties to Kyiv. India was among the first countries to recognise Ukraine, with the two establishing diplomatic relations in January 1992.
Before and after the Soviet era, the two nations maintained partnership and friendly relations. The cooperation between India and Ukraine extends to diverse areas such as cultural exchange and trade.
The agriculture trade formed a “bedrock” of India and Ukraine’s trading relationship, with Kyiv exporting more than $2 billion worth in 2021, reported Indian Express. However, the trade between the countries has suffered since the Russia-Ukraine war.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn 2022, the volume of India-Ukraine trade plunged to $2.58 billion from $3.38 billion a year before. While India’s exports to Ukraine dipped by 22.8 per cent to $85.49 million, Ukraine’s exports to India dropped by 17.3 per cent to $1.69 billion, noted Deccan Herald.
India and Ukraine’s relations also flourish through cultural exchanges. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the public in Ukraine has a “great interest” in Indian culture, including its dances, yoga, philosophy, Ayurveda and spirituality.
There are over 30 Ukrainian cultural associations and groups that promote Indian arts, especially dances.
Ukraine also hosts a small Indian community, mainly comprising business professionals and students. The business community is involved in the manufacturing, packaging, trading and service industry in Ukraine, as per the MEA.
India navigates ties with Ukraine, Russia amid war
New Delhi has remained neutral over Russia ’s war with Ukraine. India shares historical ties with Moscow, which continues to be its top arms supplier.
India is in a unique position as both Russia and Ukraine are its key strategic partners. While New Delhi has refrained from criticising Putin over the war, it has repeatedly stressed the need for “diplomacy and dialogue” to end the conflict.
New Delhi has also offered to contribute to peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine.
India has resisted pressure from the West to maintain its relations with Moscow. Earlier this month, PM Modi travelled to Russia on a two-day visit, his first to the country since the Ukraine war. In his meeting with President Putin, the Indian leader had said, “India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward.”
Gratitude to President Putin for hosting me at Novo-Ogaryovo this evening. Looking forward to our talks tomorrow as well, which will surely go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia. pic.twitter.com/eDdgDr0USZ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2024
However, Modi’s bear hug with Putin had evoked a sharp reaction from Zelenskyy, who had called it “a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts”.
New Delhi is making efforts to bolster bilateral relations with Kyiv. In March, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in New Delhi.
During the trip, India and Ukraine decided to restore trade and cooperation to levels that existed before Russia’s invasion. “India and Ukraine have been traditional friends, but I think there is much more that we can do and should do, not only in the interests of our nations, but also in the interest of global development and security architecture. We will be looking forward to restoring what had existed before the large-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine began,” Kuleba had said at the time.
Ukraine had sought India’s participation in the Switzerland conference to advance Kyiv’s efforts for peace. Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, had represented India at the peace summit but did not sign a joint communique.
India had, however, called for “sincere and practical engagement” between Russia and Ukraine for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Moscow had rejected the peace summit to which it was not invited.
Last month, Ukraine president Zelenskyy dialled PM Modi to congratulate him on his victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He had also invited Modi to visit Ukraine at a “convenient time”.
Modi and Zelenskyy had met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June. Taking to X, the Indian premier had described the meeting with the Ukrainian president as “very productive”, saying India is eager to “further cement” bilateral relations with Ukraine.
“Regarding the ongoing hostilities, reiterated that India believes in a human-centric approach and believes that the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
Earlier in July, EAM Jaishankar held phone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Kuleba, with the two discussing “further developing” bilateral ties. NSA Ajit Doval and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Yermak had also held talks.
India’s non-aligned foreign policy allows it to be friends with Russia as well as Ukraine. Unlike China, New Delhi’s neutrality is not in question, placing it in a central position to broker peace between the two battling sides.
With inputs from agencies
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