Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on a visit to Ukraine on Friday, 23 August. This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. In view of the Russia-Ukraine war, this visit of PM Modi is considered very important because he had visited Russia just a month ago. There is a lot of discussion in the Russian media about PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine.
Russia’s state TV channel RT quoted Bloomberg as saying that ‘Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on talks between Kiev and Moscow but he will not try to mediate to end the conflict.
The Russian news channel further wrote, ‘India has always insisted on dialogue and diplomacy since Russia’s military operation on Ukraine began in February 2022. However, it has not put forward any peace plan so far. Modi has reportedly refused to play the role of a mediator to end the conflict.
The Russian channel wrote that, however, Modi will stay in Ukraine for only a few hours due to security reasons. India was one of the countries that participated in the peace summit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June, but India did not sign the final declaration.
The Russian TV channel’s report mentioned PM Modi’s stay in Ukraine for a few hours and emphasized that when PM Modi came to Russia, he had a conversation with the Russian President for hours. The report wrote, ‘In the conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which lasted for several hours, Modi emphasized that the conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield.’
Russian news agency Tass has also published several reports on PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine. The newspaper wrote that during his visit to Ukraine, the Indian Prime Minister will discuss the Ukraine conflict. Quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Tanmay Lal, Tass wrote that India will continue talks with all parties involved in the conflict.
The newspaper wrote, ‘While announcing PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Tanmay Lal also recalled PM Modi’s visit to Russia in July.’
What did the American newspapers say?
On PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine, American news network CNN wrote that Ukraine had condemned the Indian PM for hugging Putin in Moscow and now after a few weeks he will visit Ukraine.
The newspaper wrote that PM Modi’s upcoming visit is taking place at a very crucial time when Ukrainian troops have entered Russian territory.
Ukrainian soldiers have been present in Russia’s Kursk region for the past two weeks. However, Ukraine says that Ukraine is not interested in occupying Russia but the purpose of this action is to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
CNN, referring to the strong reaction of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on PM Modi’s visit to Russia, wrote, ‘The Ukrainian leader had described the Putin-Modi meeting as a huge disappointment and said that the leader of the world’s largest democratic country hugging a bloody criminal is a big setback to peace efforts.
On July 8, the day PM Modi arrived in Russia, there was a Russian attack on the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine in which at least 42 people, including four children, were killed.
At the same time, American news agency Reuters has titled its report published regarding Modi’s Ukraine visit as – ‘Modi will visit Ukraine on August 23, a few weeks after reprimanding Putin.’
Reuters wrote, ‘Indian analysts say that the purpose of Modi’s visit to Ukraine may be to compensate for the loss caused by Modi’s visit to Russia last month. On the day his visit began, there was a Russian attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine, which embarrassed Modi and President Volodymyr Zelensky also criticized him.’
The news agency further wrote that India, however, has been saying that it has independent relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Tanmay Lal said, ‘Our relations with both the countries are independent of each other, these are comprehensive relations.’
Reuters further wrote that on the day of Modi’s visit to Russia, Russia attacked a children’s hospital in Ukraine, for which Modi ‘rebuked’ Putin. Modi told Putin that the death of children was painful and terrible. Russia-Ukraine should resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
What did the analysts say?
Regarding PM Modi’s Ukraine visit, many analysts say that after the Russia visit, an attempt is being made to strike a balance with Western countries. India is trying to give the message that it is not a part of any camp and will take diplomatic decisions according to its interests. However, some analysts are raising questions on the timing of PM Modi’s Ukraine visit. Well-known strategic analyst Brahma Chellaney wrote on the social media site X that the timing of PM Modi’s visit to Ukraine is wrong and there is no clear purpose for it.
He wrote, “Modi’s visit to Kyiv on August 23 is not just ill-timed; its purpose is also unclear. Ukraine’s (Russia’s) incursion has dealt a serious blow to ceasefire efforts. Just because no Indian Prime Minister has visited Ukraine since Ukraine’s independence, there is no good reason for Modi to visit Kyiv amid rising tensions in the war.”
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)