Ukraine’s foreign minister Dymtro Kuleba has stated that it is India’s interest to make the ongoing war in the country stop.
Kuleba said that if India wants to maintain its food security, it would be best that the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war comes to an end.
“…in terms of global and Indian food security, it is in the best interest to stop this war,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Dymtro Kuleba said on Sunday.
He added: “(India is) one of the largest consumers of Ukrainian agricultural products and if this war continues, it will be difficult for us to seed new harvests.”
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The Ukrainian foreign minister further urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin and make the war end.
“Prime Minister Modi, we call on him to reach out to President Putin and explain to him that this war is against interest of all,” Kuleba said.
He also sought the support of “ordinary Indians” to put pressure on Russia to stop the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Ordinary Indians can put pressure on the Russian Embassy in India to demand from them to stop the war,” Kuleba said in a televised address on Sunday.
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Responding to a query on evacuation of Indian students, who are stranded in ‘battle zones’ Kharkiv and Sumy, Kuleba said that the Indian government should pressurise Russia to stop bombardment as civilians could be evacuated.
“The governments of India, China, Nigeria – whose students are locked out in Sumy and Kharkiv – I urge you to ask Moscow to stop fire and allow civilians to leave through Ukrainian territory,” Kuleba said.
He said that Russia is trying to “earn sympathies” of India, China and Nigeria by “accusing Ukraine of keeping these students as hostages, of violating their rights and of discriminating against them”.