New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and sought India’s support to a UN Security Council resolution that would condemn the Russian military attack on Ukraine and seek an end to the hostilities.
The UN Security Council will vote on the resolution Friday past midnight (IST).
In the telephonic conversation, Kuleba urged Jaishankar to use India’s influence over Russia to force it to cease “military aggression” against Ukraine besides supporting the UN resolution.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said he emphasized that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the “way out” to the current situation and discussed the “predicament” of the Indian nationals in Ukraine.
“Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation.I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out,” Jaishankar tweeted.
“Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return,” he added.
In a tweet, Kuleba said he “asked India to use all influence in its relations with Russia to force it to cease military aggression against Ukraine”.
“Urged India as a non-permanent UNSC member to support today’s draft resolution on restoring peace in Ukraine,” he added.
The draft UN Security Council will condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that has triggered strong outrage by the Western powers.
When asked at a media briefing on Thursday about India’s position on the draft UN Security resolution on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has seen it and that New Delhi’s stand will depend on the final shape of its text.
“I am told that that would undergo considerable changes. We will wait to see the shape that the resolution takes before we can pronounce ourselves and the position that we will take on the issue,” he said.
In the midst of the escalating situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday during which he appealed for ending violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic dialogue.
Jaishankar too held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to deal with the crisis.
The external affairs minister also spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the situation in Ukraine and its implications.
The US State Department said Blinken spoke with Jaishankar to discuss Russia’s “premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified” attack on Ukraine. “Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire,” it said.
In the course of Thursday, Jaishankar also spoke to EU High Representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the evolving situation in Ukraine. PTI MPB TIR TIR
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
