New Delhi: Amid a premeditated attack on Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night to be briefed about the developments vis-a-vis the international crisis following Russia's plan to invade the country. The Russian president briefed PM Modi about the recent developments even as PM Modi reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and NATO can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue, the PMO office said.
Ukraine is expecting PM Modi to play a major role in diffusing the tensions between the two countries. Earlier on Thursday, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) after Russia launched the attack on Ukraine. Besides Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were seen in a video of the meeting shared by official sources.
Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Hardeep Singh Puri who are not part of the CCS were in the meeting. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and P K Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, also attended the meeting. Putin, who cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and announced the launch of the military offensive against Ukraine on Thursday, also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences they had "never seen".
The Ukraine ambassador to India Dr Igor Polikha had pleaded for direct mediation by Prime Minister Modi in the ongoing crisis. Dr Polikha sought the Indian government's intervention and urged PM Modi to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a press briefing in Delhi on Thursday, ambassador Polikha said, "one of the most powerful and respected world leaders is Modi Ji. We are expecting that PM Modi will somehow be able to influence Putin. We are most grateful to India for some words of support and maybe some practical assistance to Ukraine".
The Ukraine Ambassador to India said that Putin may listen to Modi even if he doesn't listen to other leaders. "You know you (India) have a special, privileged, strategic partnership with Russia. I don't know how many world leaders Putin may listen to but the status of Modi Ji makes me hopeful that in case of his strong voice, Putin at least should think over. He also added that Ukraine is expecting a more favourable attitude from India. "We are expecting for much more favourable attitude of the Indian government," Dr Polikha said.
