Warsaw, Aug. 22, (dpa/GNA) – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he supports Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing the role of mediator between Ukraine and Russia.
“I am very pleased that the prime minister has reaffirmed his willingness to work personally for a peaceful, just and swift end to the war,” Tusk said in Warsaw after talks with Modi.
Modi said during a press conference that he believed the conflict could not be resolved on the battlefield.
India engages diplomatically with both Ukraine and Russia – and has repeatedly criticized Western sanctions on Moscow.
Modi has been keen to be seen as a peacemaker between the warring sides.
He met Russian President Vladimir Putin near Moscow in July. Video of the two leaders embracing raised eyebrows in Europe and Washington, especially as it came shortly after a deadly Russian strike on a paediatric hospital in Kiev. Analysts said it showed the failure of efforts by Western powers to isolate Putin in the wake of his all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Modi plans to travel on from Warsaw to Kiev, where he is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky had condemned Modi’s talks with Putin.
Modi’s visit to Poland was the first by an Indian prime minister since 1979.
Poland is a key military supporters of Ukraine. The EU and NATO member state also plays a critical role as a logistical hub for Western aid to Kiev.
GNA