New Delhi: India called for "quiet and constructive diplomacy" and immediate de-escalation of tensions on the Russian military build-up at the Ukrainian border.
India's Permanent Representative to United Nations, TS Tirumurti, pressed for peaceful resolution of the situation through sincere and sustained diplomatic efforts at the UNSC meeting on Ukraine.
"India's interest is in finding a solution that can provide for immediate de-escalation of tensions taking into account legitimate security interests of all countries to secure long-term peace, stability in the region and beyond," ANI quoted Tirumurti as saying.
"Any steps that increase tension may best be avoided by all sides in the larger interest of securing international peace and security. Quiet and constructive diplomacy is the need of the hour," he said.
Tirumurti also pointed out that more than 20,000 Indian students and nationals live and study in different parts of Ukraine. "The well-being of Indian nationals is of priority to us," he said at the UNSC meeting.
UNSC Meet On Ukraine: US, Russia Hit Out At Each Other
Speaking on the issue at the UNSC, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the most immediate threat to peace and security was Russia's looming aggression against Ukraine.
"Russia plans to manufacture a pretext for its attack. This could be a violent event that Russia will blame on Ukraine or an outrageous accusation against the Ukraine government," Blinken said.
He further said that diplomacy was the only way to resolve this crisis and an "essential part of this is through the implementation of the Minsk Agreement".
"This crisis directly affects every member of this Council and all countries of the world. This Council's primary responsibility is the preservation of peace and security," he said.
Russia, on its part, said "the only goal of the West" was to organise a war. "If this is not the case, then the puppet government of Ukraine would have been compelled to implement the Minsk agreement a long time ago. Since this is not taking place, we can state that the West wants a war with Russia," the Russian representative said.
Tensions escalated this week between Moscow and the NATO countries over Russia's increasing military build-up close to the Ukrainian border.
The US has already sent extra troops to Europe to support its allies in the backdrop of fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been denying that it plans to invade Ukraine. It withdrew some of its forces from the border on Tuesday.