PM Modi may visit Ukraine next month

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Ukrainian capital Kyiv next month to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy against the backdrop of renewed global efforts to sketch out a path to end Russia's war on Ukraine, multiple diplomatic sources said on Saturday.

The proposed visit is being planned around the Ukrainian National Day of August 24 and the prime minister may also travel to Poland as part of a two-nation tour, they said.

If the visit takes place, then it would be the first trip by Modi to Ukraine and the first to Poland by an Indian prime minister in nearly 45 years.

The final rounds of discussions between Indian and Ukrainian officials on the trip came amid outrage in the Western world over Modi's recent visit to Moscow. His proposed visit to Kyiv is being seen in some quarters as New Delhi's balancing act on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

There is no finality yet on the visit as massive preparations would be required in terms of logistics for the travel to a "warzone", the sources said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on July 19 and they discussed the visit of the prime minister, one of the sources said.

The focus of Modi's visit is expected to be to explore ways to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, said an expert on condition of anonymity.

The US and several of its allies were outraged over the timing of Modi's July 8 to 9 visit to Moscow as it coincided with the NATO summit in Washington. Some Western capitals were also learnt to be peeved over Modi choosing Russia for his first bilateral trip in his third term.

New Delhi on Thursday rejected Washington's concerns over the prime minister's visit to Moscow and asserted that all countries have the "freedom of choice" in a multipolar world and everyone should be mindful of such realities.

Modi's visit also coincided with a Russian missile striking a children's hospital in Kyiv and Zelenskyy cited it to criticise the Indian prime minister for visiting Moscow.

In his televised opening remarks at the summit, Modi said killing innocent children is heart-wrenching and very painful.

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

Modi held talks with Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia.

In the meeting with Zelenskyy on June 14, Modi conveyed to the Ukranian president that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy".

Modi also told Zelenskyy that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

In the meeting, the Ukranian president invited the prime minister to visit Kyiv.

India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.