Nearly a week after External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar held a trip to Russia, he spoke to his Ukranian counterpart on Wednesday where he discussed a wide range of issues including the ongoing war.
According to a social media post by Jaishankar, he discussed bilateral issues and the war which Russia dubbed it as a "special military operation".
"A useful conversation with FM @DmytroKuleba of Ukraine today. Discussed advancing our bilateral cooperation in the year ahead. Exchanged views on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine," wrote Jaishankar.
Ukraine presses global peace formula
Meanwhile, Ukraine Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who has been a staunch figure after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ever since the war escalated around 3 years ago, said he informed his Indian counterpart about Moscow's recent attacks on Kyiv. Besides, the ministers also discussed the global peace formula.
According to Kuleba, the Indian side agreed to hold the first meeting of the India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission since 2018 in the near future. "The rejuvenation of this primary mechanism of our bilateral ties will allow us to jointly move forward in a comprehensive manner," added Kuleba.
It is worth mentioning the conversation with Kuleba came nearly a week after Jaishankar had a "successful" trip to Moscow. During the meeting, he held a separate meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin where he passed a "special message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi". In fact, the meeting was dubbed a "big" development by the world media as it was rare for the Russian President to meet the foreign minister of any country.
Although it was not immediately clear whether India pressed the Kremlin to end the war, it was obvious that New Delhi must have maintained its earlier stance of being "neutral" while advocating for two-side negotiations.
