EAM Jaishankar holds phone talks with Ukrainian counterpart

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow.

Jaishankar said the focus of the conversation was to further develop the bilateral relationship.

"A good conversation with FM @DmytroKuleba of Ukraine this afternoon. Spoke about further developing our bilateral relationship," he said on 'X'.

The phone conversation between the two foreign ministers came against the backdrop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of Modi's visit to Moscow.

On July 9, the Ukrainian president described Modi's visit to Moscow as a "huge" disappointment and a "devastating blow" to peace efforts.

In a post on 'X', Zelenskyy specifically referred to Russia's missile attacks on Ukraine, including on a children's hospital in Kyiv.

"A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble," Zelenskyy had said.

"It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," he said.

Modi visited Moscow on July 8 and 9 in his first trip to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.

In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi delivering an unambiguous message said a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs, guns and bullets.

In his televised opening remarks, Modi said the killing of innocent children is heart-wrenching and very painful in a reference to the strike on the children's hospital in Kyiv.