NEW DELHI: With a focus on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and its ramifications, a peace formula and its implementation were discussed in the bilateral meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.
“In New Delhi, I had sincere and comprehensive talks with Jaishankar and spoke about Ukrainian-Indian bilateral relations, the situation in our regions, and global security. We paid specific attention to the peace formula and next steps on the path of its implementation,” said Kuleba.
They also co-chaired the Ukrainian-Indian intergovernmental commission (IGC) review meeting and agreed to restore the level of cooperation between the two countries that existed prior to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “We also identified new promising projects to take our relations to the next level,” Kuleba added.
Kuleba was on an official visit to Delhi at the invitation of Jaishankar. His two-day visit to India comes amid efforts to seek a peaceful resolution to the more than two-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kuleba arrived on Thursday.
“I was pleased to co-chair the review meeting of our inter-governmental commission with FM Kuleba of Ukraine. We noted the importance of further strengthening cooperation in all domains. Our immediate goal is to get trade back to earlier levels,” said Jaishankar. The two ministers also exchanged perspectives on trade, health and agriculture cooperation. They also agreed to prepare for the 7th IGC meeting later this year.
“We had an open and wide-ranging conversations, our discussions focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications. Exchanged views on various initiatives in that context,” he said.
They also spoke on global and regional issues of interest to both and reiterated their commitment to strengthening the relationship, including bilateral cooperation. The peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 follows 10 principles aimed at ensuring a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 20 held separate conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy and said that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward for the resolution of Russia-Ukraine conflict.