In Kyiv, Indian PM urges Zelenskiy to sit down for talks with Russia

By Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -India's Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv.

The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.

The optics closely resembled the Indian leader's visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital on the same day.

"The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said in Kyiv.

"I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend," he said.

It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a November presidential election looming in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine.

Speaking later on Friday in his regular address to the nation after the visit had ended, Zelenskiy said it is "important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity".

He also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike.

India, which traditionally has close economic and defence relations with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow.

Both leaders described Modi's visit as "historic" in their statements during their meeting, in which Modi spoke second and Zelenskiy had no opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue.

Zelenskiy said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine".

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv's terms, not Russia's. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia.

The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world's second largest economy. Zelenskiy urged Modi to sign the summit's communique, which India has not done.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6.

Kyiv's top commander has touted the capture of almost 100 settlements in the assault, part of what military analysts see as an attempt to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine where Moscow's forces are making gains.

'CERTAIN INFLUENCE'

Modi's visit to Moscow prompted Zelenskiy to criticise the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with the missile strike that hit a children's hospital in Kyiv.

As he welcomed Modi to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced him with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the missile strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.

"Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," the post said.

In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelenskiy's office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi "really has a certain influence" over Moscow.

"It's extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is - and that it is also in their interests," he said.

As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.

Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow's top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India's oil imports.

(Additional reporting by YP Rajesh, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik and Sudipto Ganguly in New Delhi, Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk, Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Andrew Heavens, Philippa Fletcher and Mark Heinrich)