For the first time since the Russia-Ukraine war, a top official from the war-torn nation is set to visit India on a four-day visit with an aim to garner support from New Delhi.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emin Dzaparova will go on a four-day visit from April 9-12. Notably, this will be the first official visit to the Eastern European country since the Russian invasion began last year.
“Emin Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, will pay an official visit to India from April 9 to 12,” the Foreign Ministry said.
As per the programme, the Ukrainian minister will meet Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri. In addition, she will also hold meetings with Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Ukrainian minister likely to invite PM Modi
The war-torn nation is expected to seek support from New Delhi or press India to negotiate a “peace deal” with Russia.
Also, it is expected that the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine may invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Ukraine.
Significantly, since the beginning of the conflict, war-torn President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart had spoken to PM Modi on the issue. However, India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been maintaining that the crisis should be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
India promotes dialogue diplomacy
During talks with the two leaders, Modi said that “there can be no military solution” and that India was ready to contribute to any peace efforts. The Ministry of External Affairs said that India shares warm and friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ukraine. “In the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has made significant progress in the fields of trade, education, culture and defence,” the statement said.
The visit will be an opportunity to further mutual understanding and interests.