Kyiv confirms Modi's upcoming visit to Ukraine
Editor's note: The article was updated with Ukraine's Presidential Office statement.
Ukraine's Presidential Office confirmed on Aug. 19 the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine.
Modi's arrival will take place on Aug. 23, the statement read. The visit, which was first announced by Indian media in July, will be the first Indian prime minister's trip to Ukraine in the history of bilateral relations between the two nations.
Modi will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation. A number of documents are also expected to be signed between Kyiv and New Delhi, the presidential office said.
The previous month, Modi visited Russia and held talks with President Vladimir Putin, a meeting that included a widely criticized hug between the two leaders.
In June, Modi met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Italy during the G7 summit. They discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with Modi emphasizing the importance of "dialogue and diplomacy." He reiterated that India would continue to support a peaceful resolution, according to the meeting's official handout.
New Delhi has been calling for a diplomatic solution to Russia's war against Ukraine but has been simultaneously fostering close economic ties with Moscow. India became one of the chief buyers of Russian oil following Western sanctions, although pressure from U.S. sanctions increasingly threatens this trade.
While India participated in Ukraine's global peace summit in June, Modi did not attend personally, and India's representative did not ultimately sign the joint communique.
Modi was also one of the few democratically elected leaders to congratulate Putin on his reelection in March after a vote that was widely considered to be neither free nor fair.
Shashi Tharoor
