Emphasising the increased credibility of India over the past decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was the strength of the Indian tricolour that became his “guarantee” when several Indians were trapped in Ukraine at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He talked about the country’s diplomatic prowess and recalled how in 2015, there used to be a period of ‘no bombarding’ on India’s request, while Indians were being evacuated from war-torn Yemen.
“I have been very friendly with both the presidents (Russia and Ukraine). I can publicly tell President Putin that it is not the time for war. I can also say publicly to Ukraine that we should follow the path of dialogue,” underscoring that “this is because I have credibility,” he said during an interview with news agency ANI.
“…When I said that so many people from India our youth is trapped. And I need your help. And what can I do for you? Then I said, I have arranged so much. You help me so much. They helped. The strength of the Indian flag was so great that even a foreigner used to hold the Indian flag in his hand. So there was a place for him. So my flag became my guarantee,” the Prime Minister emphasised during the interview.
PM Modi said that although there have been a lot of ongoing discussions about Ukraine, he has seen many such incidents since 2014.
He recalled his direct call to the Saudi King in the year 2015, which helped India evacuate Indians and foreigners, stranded in war-torn Yemen, on a mass scale. At the time, the bombing by Saudi Arabia and its allies on Yemen made the evacuation process difficult.
“I spoke to the Saudi King and told him that I want to bring people from Yemen there. So your bombarding is going on, we are not able to do it, How will you help us? So he said, Please try to understand me. And Sushma ji has said all these things in her interview. There used to be a period at the request of India in which there was no bombarding. And at that time, we used to take our people out in aircrafts. We brought about 5000 people from Yemen. It was the same in Ukaraine,” PM Modi said.
India’s Diplomatic Relations With Russia And Ukraine
Earlier this year in March, PM Modi had separate telephonic conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called for the resolution of war through dialogue.
In conversation with Putin, PM Modi congratulated the Russian President for his re-election to the top office. During the call, both leaders agreed to intensify efforts towards expanding the India-Russia ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’.
PM Modi also reaffirmed India’s stand on dialogue and diplomacy as a way for the resolution of the conflict.
Meanwhile, during the call with Zelenskyy, PM Modi reiterated India’s people-centric approach and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The war between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022.
(With ANI Inputs)
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