New Delhi: Ukraine is closely watching the “comments” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would like Indian officials like National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to visit Kyiv just as he visited Moscow, said a top Ukrainian minister in New Delhi Tuesday.
“We closely watch the comments of different leaders as well as PM Modi and the travels of National Security Advisor (NSA) Mr [Ajit] Doval. He went to Moscow three times. Of course, it’s not a question if he comes to Kyiv. We would be happy to welcome leaders and officials of India,” said First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova.
“We expect the visit of Mr Ajit Doval…to coordinate a special security mechanism,” she added.
Dzhaparova, who is on an official visit to India, was speaking at an event hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). Her visit is an attempt by Kyiv to intensify dialogue with India, which has remained neutral throughout the conflict and has called for diplomacy and dialogue.
During her remarks, the minister said Ukraine can share military expertise with India and that New Delhi can play the role of an “arbiter” in the ongoing Ukraine war. She also criticised China’s proposed 12-point peace plan for the Ukraine conflict, arguing that parts of it are “not perfect”.
This is the first visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since the start of the Ukraine war in February last year. During her visit, Dzhaparova has been pushing for India to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit in September.
Zelenskyy took part in the G20 Summit in Bali last November, albeit virtually.
Also Read: Ukraine minister invites India to join Zelenskyy’s peace plan and grain initiative
‘Not like Afghan army, running from Talibs’
During her remarks at ICWA, the minister compared the Ukrainian Army to that of Afghanistan in the context of the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. She lauded the Ukrainian Army’s offensive against Russia, adding that they are “not like the Afghan army, running from the Talibs even though they had an army three times bigger”.
Over a thousand Afghan troops fled to neighbouring Tajikistan following clashes with the Taliban, in the month before Kabul fell.
Without naming Russia, Dzhaparova, while speaking to reporters a day prior, called on New Delhi to diversify its energy imports and military contracts.
Clocking in at 1.2 million barrels per day, India has been importing large amounts of Russian crude since the start of the war, according to data from December 2022.
‘China peace plan not perfect’
The Ukrainian minister also criticised China’s efforts towards finding a solution to the war, specifically its 12-point peace plan announced earlier this year. “China and Ukraine share a strategic partnership but sometimes we feel a lack of contact,” said Dzhaparova.
“Usually, people call it a ‘peace proposal’ or a ‘peace formula’ but we don’t see it as a peace formula; it’s a position of China’s on the situation in Ukraine. It has several constructive elements…but some of them are not perfect,” she added.
Dzhaparova further called on countries like India, who believe in “principles and justice” to back Kyiv, adding that multilateral bodies such as the United Nations are no longer relevant.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)