New Delhi: The issue of Ukraine crisis featured in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the leaders of the Nordic countries during the second India-Nordic Summit in Copenhagen, where he arrived a day back on the second leg of his three-nation Europe trip. Modi met his counterparts from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland during the summit. India and the Nordic countries discussed the destabilising impact of the conflict in Ukraine and its international implications.
At the end of the Summit, PM Modi tweeted, “The India-Nordic Summit will go a long way in boosting India’s ties with the region. Together, there is much that our nations can achieve and contribute to global prosperity and sustainable development.”
A joint statement from the leaders showed their serious concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
"They unequivocally condemned civilian deaths in Ukraine. They reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities," the statement said, adding, “The Nordic prime ministers reiterated their strong condemnation of the unlawful and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by Russian forces.”
The statement further said that the prime ministers stressed the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states.
The statement said that the Nordic countries and India have opted for a rule-based global order and multilateral institutions, and their commitment to towards making them more inclusive, transparent, and accountable in a bid to address the global challenges more effectively.
"This included working towards reform of the UN including of the Security Council, to make it more effective, transparent and accountable, and the reform of the World Trade Organisation, as well as strengthening collaboration on global health issues, including pandemic preparedness and response," the statement said.
Addressing a special briefing on the PM's visit to Denmark, foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the leaders have also discussed about the Indo-Pacific issue.
"Both in the bilateral conversation and in the summit meeting also, the leaders did exchange views on matters of regional and global interest that naturally included Ukraine also. There were also discussions on the Indo-Pacific,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.