Ukraine: PM Narendra Modi is currently on a visit to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin. During this, Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed the Prime Minister and hugged him. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern over this meeting. He said that this meeting took place at a time when 40 people were killed in the Russian attack. Even cancer patients and children were not spared in this attack. In fact, a children’s hospital in Ukraine was attacked during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia.
After the attack, Zelensky wrote on social media, ‘At a time when Russia is constantly attacking Ukraine, it is very sad for the leader of the world’s largest democracy to go there and hug the world’s biggest criminal. This is a devastating incident for the efforts being made for peace.’
PM Modi has arrived in Russia to participate in the 22nd annual summit between India and Russia. PM Modi was given a guard of honour by Russia. President Putin invited the PM to dinner at his residence, where the two leaders had an informal conversation. Putin congratulated PM Modi for winning the Lok Sabha elections, while Modi thanked the President for calling him to Russia for talks.
Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022. Initially, the world felt that Ukraine would soon surrender in front of the Russian army, but this did not happen. Ukraine continued to compete with Russia. Western countries also helped Ukraine a lot during this war. India kept its distance from it from the beginning and asked both countries to resolve the dispute through diplomacy. During the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, PM Modi told Putin that this is “not a period of war.” Western countries liked this statement of PM Modi very much. India never criticized Russia sharply during this period. Despite the sanctions imposed by Western countries, India has consistently managed to save its trade relations with Russia and has been successful in convincing the Western countries that better relations with Russia are important for India’s economy.
