Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (August 26) spoke to US President Joe Biden on phone and discussed the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the security of minorities, "especially Hindus”, in Bangladesh. Biden dialled the Prime Minister days after the latter returned from war-torn Ukraine concluding a historic visit.
“Spoke to @POTUS @JoeBiden on phone today. We had a detailed exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including the situation in Ukraine. I reiterated India’s full support for early return of peace and stability. We also discussed the situation in Bangladesh and stressed on the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh,” PM Modi posted on X.
What did PM Modi-Biden discuss about?
According to the officials, while discussing the situation in Ukraine, PM Modi briefed President Biden on his recent visit to Ukraine. He reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy and expressed full support for early return of peace and stability.
"The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. They emphasised restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh," the officials said. The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the cooperation in multilateral fora, including the Quad.
The Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for President Biden’s deep commitment the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, which is based on shared values of democracy, rule of law and strong people-to-people ties. "The leaders reviewed the significant progress in bilateral relations and highlighted that India-US partnership is aimed at benefiting the people of both countries as well as the entire humanity," officials said.
The two world leaders spoke on Monday as the situation in Ukraine and Bangladesh remain tense -- due to prolonged war with Russia in the former, and violent protests in the latter. The Prime Minister has earlier expressed concerns over the situation of religious minorities, especially Hindus in Bangladesh which was flooded with reports of attacks on Hindus after former PM Sheikh Hasina fled the country following violent stir by the students.
PM Modi's Ukraine visit
Prime Minister Modi was on a day-long visit to Ukraine on August 23 which followed a trip to Poland. He became the first Indian PM to visit Ukraine since its independence. He met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and offered to provide assistance in bringing peace to the region. He also promised that India will always stand with Ukraine for humanitarian assistance.
PM Modi noted that India did stay away from the war between Russia and Ukraine, but stressed that it was "never neutral" and was always "in favour of peace".
"The second path that we adopted was to stay away from war. We have stayed away from the war with conviction but that does not mean that we were neutral. We were never neutral. We have been in favour of peace from day 1. I have come to the soil of Ukraine with a message of peace," PM Modi told Zelenskyy.
"I want to assure you that India is ready to play its active part in the peace efforts. Personally I, if could contribute, would definitely want to do it as a friend," he assured.
