Ukraine's Foreign Minister Urges PM Modi To 'Reach Out' To Putin, Seeks Support From 'Ordinary Indians'

While Ukraine seeks India's support in ending the ongoing conflict, Russian envoy says India can take advantage of the situation to bolster economic ties with Moscow.

Photo: Twitter/DmytroKuleba | PIB

New Delhi: Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "reach out" to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine.

This comes after Vladimir Putin on Saturday warned that Ukraine's statehood is in jeopardy as he also likened the West's sanctions on Russia to "declaring war."

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged PM Modi to "reach out" to Vladimir Putin and "explain to him that this war is against the interest of all".

Dmytro was delivering a televised address when he sought support from "ordinary Indians" as the Ukrainian capital Kyiv continues to battle the Russian offensive with the invasion entering its eleventh day.

When asked about the support from other nations, Kuleba said, "Prime Minister Modi, we call on him to reach out to President Putin and explain to him that this war is against (the) interest of all. The only person on the entire planet - who is interested in this war - is President Putin himself. People of Russia are not interested in this war."

India is "one of the largest consumers of Ukrainian agricultural products and if this war continues, it'll be difficult for us to seed new harvests," the minister said. "So, even in terms of global and Indian food security, it's in the best interest to stop this war," he added, as quoted by HT.

In his address, Kuleba also said that "ordinary Indians can put pressure on the Russian Embassy in India to demand from them to stop the war."

Ukraine Crisis Will Have Consequences For Whole World, Including For India-Russia Ties: Envoy

On the other hand, Russia also seeks better economic ties with India as it faces crippling sanctions from the West.

The current crisis in Ukraine will have consequences for the whole world, including for Russia-India relations, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Saturday, as reported by news agency PTI.

"This crisis will have consequences for the whole world, including for the Russia-India relations. To what extent, it will be reflected, probably no one can say now," Alipov said.

He emphasised that India can take advantage of the situation to bolster economic ties with Russia. "It makes sense for the Indians to take advantage of the situation when many Western partners refused to cooperate with us, and more actively penetrate the Russian market," the Russian envoy said, as quoted by PTI.

"This is a window of opportunity for Indian businesses. It also makes sense for India to take a closer look at cooperation with Russia," he added.

PM Narendra Modi has spoken to Vladimir Putin as well as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the ongoing conflict. He has also been holding high-level meetings to review the situation and rescue operations for Indian nationals stranded in the region.