Indian Prime Minister Modi offers to help 'as a friend' to bring peace to Ukraine

Kyiv: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered as a friend to help bring peace to Ukraine in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk...

Kyiv: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered "as a friend” to help bring peace to Ukraine in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a brief visit on Friday that many in the war-battered country hope will pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation.

Modi’s trip marks the most prominent wartime visit by a leader from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India's support is seen as a factor that could bolster efforts toward peace negotiations.

Zelenskyy and Modi discussed at length Ukraine’s peace formula, which prioritizes territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We say it very loudly and clearly that we support the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Modi said through a translator during his meeting with Zelenskyy. "It's our highest priority.”

Modi added that during his visit to Russia last month, he told Russian President Vladimir Putin "that problems cannot be resolved on the battlefield.”