New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said that India continues to back all efforts aimed at ending the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Addressing a weekly media briefing on Wednesday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi has always called for sincere and practical engagement between the two parties through dialogue and diplomacy in order to find a solution to the conflict. He also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement of this not being “an era of war.”
When asked about the latest peace plan compiled by the US with inputs from Russia and Ukraine, Jaiswal responded, “We have seen reports about the peace plan. This issue is still evolving as you would have seen. There are meetings which are being held. We are closely monitoring the developments in this regard. As you are aware, our Prime Minister has in the past and on several occasions, said that this is not an era of war and also called for the earliest possible secession of hostilities.”
“India has also advocated for sincere and practical engagement between the two parties and other key stakeholders through dialogue and diplomacy to find lasting solution to the conflict. We continue to support all efforts aimed at bringing lasting peace to the region. Peace efforts were also discussed when External Affairs Minister visited Moscow and it was also discussed when he had a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, the foreign minister, recently,” he added.
On Sunday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Minister Andrii Sybiha and discussed the latest developments in Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said, “Had a telecon with FM Andrii Sybiha of Ukraine last evening. Appreciate his briefing on the ongoing developments related to the Ukraine conflict. Reiterated India’s support for an early end to this conflict and the establishment of an enduring peace.”
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that his peace plan has been “fine-tuned” with inputs from Russia and Ukraine, and he is sending envoys to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to finalise a deal.
There are only a “few remaining points of disagreement” over the 28-point plan drafted by the US after it was fine-tuned, Trump said on Truth Social on Tuesday.
“In the hopes of finalising this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President [Vladimir] Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians”, he wrote.
He said that he was looking forward to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “but only when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages”.
Trump had said he was setting a Thanksgiving Day deadline – Thursday when the feast is observed in the US – for Ukraine to agree to the deal, but has since said he was open to extending it if there was progress.
The war, which, according to Trump, claimed the lives of 25,000 soldiers last month, continued to rage with Russia hitting Kyiv with missiles and drones on Tuesday.
(IANS)
