Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed on the potential of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help mediate peace talks to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Times of India on October 28.
“Modi is a PM of a really huge country from the perspective of population, economy, influence, and impact. Such a country cannot just say we are interested in the end of the war — we are all interested in that. PM Modi can influence the end of the Ukraine war. This is the huge value of him in any conflict. This is the huge value of India,” said Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy expressed openness to the idea of holding talks in India, saying that any negotiation must align with Ukraine’s priorities: “Undoubtedly it can be in India and PM Modi can really do that… but I think we need to prepare ourselves… and only according to our format because the war is in our land… we have the platform which is the peace summit.”
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine’s drive to fortify its defense and negotiate from a position of strength, stating, “The Victory Plan is not a bargaining chip or a topic of negotiations with Russia… We are not asking for quick NATO membership because that is not possible during the war, what are we asking is an invitation to NATO so that in the future nobody can change their opinion.”
The Ukrainian President additionally urged Modi to take a proactive stance on humanitarian issues, particularly regarding Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
“You can force Putin to bring back Ukrainian children. Modi can use it’s influence and tell Putin to just free 1,000 Ukrainian children who will be brought back to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy stated.
Earlier, an ISW report showed that Russia was expected to use the BRICS summit as an opportunity to strengthen its military efforts in Ukraine.
