Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kiev on August 23, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP
Describing India as a “big country” with a “great influence” on the Russian economy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that if India and Indians “change their attitude towards Russia”, the war will end because the Russian president Vladimir Putin will put an end to it. . He talked about India’s “record-breaking” deals for oil from Russia.
Acknowledging the discussion on India’s energy purchases from Russia in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Zelensky, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the Indian side has explained to the Ukrainian side the energy market scenario and prices should “remain reasonable”. and stable”.
In an hour-long interaction with visiting Indian media, Mr Zelensky described his meeting with Mr Modi as “very good” and “historic”. He said one of the key issues during the talks was India’s oil purchases from Russia.
“Because today many avenues for Russian exports are closed, your country is open,” he said. “If you stop oil imports, Putin will face enormous challenges.”
He said Mr Putin has a war economy and billions from India or China have helped him. “We must stop giving money to strengthen Russian weapons,” he emphasized.
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He said Mr Putin “never respected” Mr Modi, which is why Russia bombed a hospital in Ukraine last month at the same time the Indian prime minister was in Moscow.
Asked whether the issue of India’s position on resolutions was discussed at the United Nations, he said it was not. “We are not happy that we have not received Indian support. We must now speak in favor of the resolutions. We don’t have time to look at the past. I want to build something good, something positive,” he said.
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“I really want your country on our side,” and without being even-handed, Mr. Zelensky continued, saying, “Maybe your country is the key to this….”
Stating that there must be a win-win situation between the two countries, the Ukrainian president said there are opportunities for cooperation, including co-development and co-production, in high-tech sectors such as defense.
Mr Jaishankar noted that many energy producers have been sanctioned, making the market potentially very tight. “Why there is coercion today, and not just any coercion, why it is in the interest of the international economy as a whole that prices remain reasonable and stable,” he said at a press conference.
Noting that India is a major oil consumer and importer, Mr. Jaishankar said, “There is an oil strategy to buy oil. There is a market strategy for buying oil. So the numbers on where we get our oil imports from go up and down. It depends on the state of the market. But it would certainly… I think the fact that the market is tight, that today major suppliers like Iran and Venezuela, who used to supply India, are restricted from operating freely in the markets is a factor to take into account must be kept. bill,” he added.
To another question, Mr. Zelensky said that none of the Indians fighting in the Russian army are in captivity. “Once I know we have that, I will release them,” he added.
