India wants end to Ukraine hostilities, says PM Johnson

NEW DELHI: India wants the “Russians out” of Ukraine and an end to hostilities in the eastern European country, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday even as he pledged further support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s efforts to push back against the invasion.

The Ukraine crisis figured in the talks between Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, who said at a joint media interaction that the two leaders had stressed on dialogue and diplomacy for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem in Ukraine.

“We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.

Johnson told a subsequent news conference that it would be unrealistic to expect India to change its position on Russia, given the historic relationship between the two sides, though the Indian side “can see what is going on (in Ukraine) and there is an increasing appetite to do more with the UK”.

“What the Indians want is peace and they want the Russians out, and I totally agree with that,” he said. The Indian side and Modi “have come out and been very strong in their language about what’s happened in Bucha”, he said, referring to the civilian killings in the town on the outskirts of Kyiv.

“Talking to Prime Minister Modi today, it’s clear that he has already intervened several times...with (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, really to ask him what on earth he means and what he’s doing, and where he thinks this is going,” Johnson said.

Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla told a separate news conference that the two Prime Ministers had discussed the Ukraine conflict, and Modi had expressed deep concern over the situation and the mounting humanitarian crisis. The Indian Prime Minister had “reiterated his call for immediate cessation of violence and conveyed strong advocacy for peaceful resolution of the situation and direct dialogue between the two parties”, Shringla added.