NEW DELHI: India wants the “Russians out” of Ukraine and an end to hostilities in the eastern European country, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday even as he pledged further support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s efforts to push back against the invasion.
The Ukraine crisis figured in the talks between Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, who said at a joint media interaction that the two leaders had stressed dialogue and diplomacy for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem in Ukraine.
“We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.
Johnson told a subsequent news conference that it would be unrealistic to expect India to change its position on Russia, given the historic relationship between the two sides, though the Indian side “can see what is going on [in Ukraine] and there is an increasing appetite to do more with the UK”.
“What the Indians want is peace and they want the Russians out, and I totally agree with that,” he said. The Indian side and PM Modi “have come out and been very strong in their language about what’s happened in Bucha”, he said, referring to the civilian killings in the town on the outskirts of Kyiv.
“Talking to Prime Minister Modi today, it’s clear that he has already intervened several times...with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, really to ask him what on earth he means and what he’s doing, and where he thinks this is going,” Johnson said.
{{/usCountry}}“Talking to Prime Minister Modi today, it’s clear that he has already intervened several times...with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, really to ask him what on earth he means and what he’s doing, and where he thinks this is going,” Johnson said.
{{/usCountry}}He added Britain and India are being “encouraged and obliged by the pressure of events”, including “autocratic coercion in Russia or China”, to do more together.
Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla told a separate news conference that the two prime ministers discussed the Ukraine conflict, and Modi expressed deep concern over the situation and the mounting humanitarian crisis. The Indian prime minister “reiterated his call for immediate cessation of violence and conveyed strong advocacy for peaceful resolution of the situation and direct dialogue between the two parties”, Shringla added.
Shringla also made it clear that there was “no pressure of any kind” from the British side on the Ukraine crisis, and the two leaders had shared their own perspectives on the conflict.
India, which is dependent on Russia for more than 60% of the military hardware used by its armed forces, has refrained from publicly criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Besides calling for an immediate end to the fighting, India has called for respecting the territorial integrity of all states and condemned the civilian killings in Bucha.
Johnson pledged further support for Ukraine’s efforts to counter the Russian invasion, including the supply of military hardware such as ammunition, artillery and armoured vehicles, more sanctions and a ban on technology transfers to Russia. He confirmed that the British embassy in Ukraine is set to reopen next week, depending on the security situation.
While acknowledging that the defeat of Ukraine is a “realistic possibility” since Putin has a huge army and is bent on continuing with his “grinding, appalling approach”, Johnson lauded the “incredible heroism of Ukrainians and their willingness to fight”.
Putin, he said, will “not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people”.
In addition to security guarantees, weaponry, training and intelligence-sharing to make Ukraine impregnable to further Russian attacks, the UK will look at backfilling military hardware for countries such as Poland that send heavy equipment like T-72 tanks to Ukraine, he said.