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India, Ukraine foreign ministers discuss conflict, future cooperation
They agreed to hold the first meeting of the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical, industrial and cultural cooperation in almost six years
NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday discussed the conflict in Ukraine and ways to take forward cooperation between the two sides during their first formal contact in several months.
The two foreign ministers agreed to hold the first meeting of the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical, industrial and cultural cooperation in almost six years. The body last met in Kyiv in February 2018.
“A useful conversation with FM @DmytroKuleba of Ukraine today. Discussed advancing our bilateral cooperation in the year ahead. Exchanged views on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” Jaishankar said in a post on X without giving details.
Kuleba said in a post on X that he made his first call in 2024 to Jaishankar to discuss bilateral ties. “We agreed to hold the first meeting of the India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission since 2018 in the near future. The rejuvenation of this primary mechanism of our bilateral ties will allow us to jointly move forward in a comprehensive manner,” he said.
“I informed my counterpart of Russia’s recent escalation of terror and mass air attacks, which caused civilian suffering and destruction,” he added.
The two ministers also discussed “further cooperation on the Peace Formula” proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kuleba said. “In this regard, I informed my counterpart of Ukraine’s vision for the Global Peace Summit of leaders,” he said.
Ukraine says Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace formula has been endorsed by 80 countries. Kyiv had plans to hold a global peace summit for Ukraine in 2023 but could not go ahead with the move as the focus of the West shifted to the Israel-Hamas conflict towards the end of the year. Ukraine has organised a series of talks attended by dozens of countries without Russia in the run-up to the summit, which Ukrainian officials have said may now be held in February.
The peace formula envisages the withdrawal of Russian troops, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, protection of food and energy supplies, safety of nuclear installations, and release of all prisoners.
India has consistently pushed for a return to dialogue and diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict while refraining from any public criticism of the Russian invasion. Ukraine also did not get a positive response to its push for India to invite Zelenskyy to the G20 Summit held in New Delhi last September.
Jaishankar’s conversation with Kuleba came less than a week after the external affairs minister’s visit to Russia for consultations with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. During the visit, Jaishankar described Russia as a very valued and time-tested partner for India and the two sides agreed to explore ways to expand the export of Russian energy, including oil and coal, to Indian markets.
Former minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar led the Indian delegation for the last meeting of the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission in Kyiv in February 2018.
