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Zelensky seeks PM Modi’s support for Ukrainian peace proposal to end war

Zelensky was most respectful of PM Modi and made no demands on India except for asking support for his peace proposal.

Updated on: May 25, 2023, 08:46:14 IST
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a peace plan to end the 15-month long war with Russia on the side-lines of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima and sought India’s endorsement as the country had resonance and credibility in the comity of nations. PM Modi met President Zelensky on May 21.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding talks with Ukrainian President V Zelensky on sidelines of G-7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding talks with Ukrainian President V Zelensky on sidelines of G-7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21.

According to authoritative sources, Zelensky was most respectful of PM Modi and made no demands on India except for asking support for his peace proposal as he felt that many countries look towards the largest democracy in the world. The proposal is under consideration of the Modi government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to the Capital after a three nation tour this morning with a breakthrough in the bilateral relations with Australia and deepening cooperation with the Far Pacific nations at the Indo-Pacific Forum summit. Despite the hectic overseas tour, PM Modi hit the ground running by addressing party workers outside the Palam Technical Area early morning and will flag the Vande Bharat Express for Dehradun from New Delhi at 11 am.

According to officials, G-7 leaders including US President Joe Biden asked PM Modi for his secret behind his long innings in Indian politics as he was the senior most international leader at the Quad summit. PM Modi was taken aback by impromptu gestures of Papua New Guinea PM James Marape at the Jackson airport with the latter showing utmost respect to the Indian PM. The Indo-Pacific Forum countries showed eagerness to cement cooperation with India after vaccine diplomacy and humanitarian relief support by New Delhi in a time of need.

However, significant progress was recorded in the bilateral ties with Australia with the body language of the two PMs revealing mutual trust and respect. After working hard to improve relations with Canberra since 2014, the two sides broke new ground with Australia willing to supply lithium to India for its electric car batteries. “The two leaders clearly were in sync with each other on further improving bilateral ties and were on the same page on the Indo-Pacific. The signing of the migration mobility agreement with Australia shows the trust that Canberra has on the Indian diaspora,” said a senior official.

Another senior official said that India has been able to expand its diplomatic footprint in the Indo-Pacific and laid the foundation to comprehensive bilateral ties with Australia.

  • Shishir Gupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shishir Gupta

    Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades. A recognised authority on strategic affairs, Gupta has covered India's nuclear programme since the Pokhran-II (Shakti series) tests in May 1998 and has written extensively on global nuclear issues, Indian diplomacy and the country's expanding global outreach. He has also reported widely on international conflicts and terrorism, with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent. Gupta has interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than four times, including Modi's first interview with the print media after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. His other interviews include three with the Dalai Lama, as well as conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal. He is the author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (Hachette, 2011) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (Hachette, 2014). He was awarded the Chevening-Wolfson Joint Scholarship at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK, in 1998 and participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US State Department in 2006. He received the Ben Gurion Prize from Israel in 2011 and the K. Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 from the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Since 2024, he has hosted Point Blank, Hindustan Times' weekly YouTube show on global geopolitics.Read More