India-Ukraine discuss ongoing conflict, nuclear concerns

Phnom Penh (Cambodia): India and Ukraine on Saturday discussed the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, nuclear concerns and food security.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the ASEAN India Summit in the Cambodian capital.
The External Affairs Minister is accompanying Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar who is leading the Indian delegation to the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 17th East Asia Summit here.
“Pleasure to meet Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine. Our discussions covered recent developments in the conflict, the grain initiative and nuclear concerns,” tweeted External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and “ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.”
In a tweet, Kuleba said, “My Indian counterpart Dr S. Jaishankar and I met to discuss bilateral cooperation and ways to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. I emphasized that Russia must immediately cease deadly attacks, withdraw all troops from Ukraine, and commit to peace. We also focused on global food security.”
Notably, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar recently laid out India’s position on the Ukraine conflict during his bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and said “the Global South is acutely feeling the pain of the conflict.”
“We are seeing growing concerns on energy and food security from the conflict that are coming on top of severe stresses created by two years of Covid. The Global South, especially, is feeling this pain very acutely. India, therefore, strongly advocates a return to dialogue and diplomacy,” Jaishankar said.
Dr Jaishankar was of the view that the global economy is simply too inter-dependent for a significant conflict anywhere, not to have major consequences elsewhere.
The Ukraine conflict prominently figured during Dr Jaishankar’s talks with the Russian counterpart last Tuesday.
The Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, in response, had accused the West of attempting to strengthen its dominant role in world affairs under the pretext of the Ukrainian events.
UNI