New Delhi | External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow.
Jaishankar said the focus of the conversation was to further develop bilateral relations.
The phone conversation between the two foreign ministers came against the backdrop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of Modi's visit to Moscow on July 8 to 9.
"A good conversation with FM @DmytroKuleba of Ukraine this afternoon. Spoke about further developing our bilateral relationship," Jaishankar said on X.
Kuleba too said that further development of Ukraine-India relations figured in the conversation.
"Building on my visit to New Delhi earlier this year and the meeting between President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Modi in Italy, I spoke with my Indian counterpart @DrSJaishankar about the further development of Ukrainian-Indian bilateral relations," he said in a post on X.
On July 9, the Ukrainian president described Modi's visit to Moscow as a "huge" disappointment and a "devastating blow" to peace efforts.
Zelenskyy specifically referred to Russia's missile attacks on Ukraine including on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
"A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble," Zelenskyy said on X.
"It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," he said.
Subsequently, India conveyed to Kyiv its displeasure over the Ukranian president's remarks, according to diplomatic sources.
Modi's visit to Russia was his first trip to that country since its invasion of Ukraine.
In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi delivered an unambiguous message, saying a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs, guns and bullets.
In his televised opening remarks, Modi said killing of innocent children is heart-wrenching and very painful in a reference to the strike on the children's hospital in Kyiv.
