New Delhi:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting additional humanitarian aid, the foreign ministry said today.
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova handed over a letter from President Zelensky, addressed to PM Modi, to Minister Meenakshi Lekhi yesterday.
Ukraine has requested additional humanitarian supplies, including medicines and medical equipment. Ms Lekhi tweeted that India had assured enhanced humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
The Ukraine Minister said the war-torn country would allow foreign medical students to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile, which is a huge relief for thousands of Indian students forced to leave Ukraine when war broke out.
Ukraine has also suggested that rebuilding infrastructure in the country could be an opportunity for Indian companies.
On Monday, the Ukrainian minister said Kyiv wanted New Delhi to be more involved in helping resolve its war with Russia and sought a visit by PM Modi and other top officials.
She also said that Ukraine is not in a position to instruct India on its economic relations with other countries, in an apparent reference to New Delhi’s energy ties with Moscow.
Emine Dzhaparova’s visit to India is the first from Ukraine after Russia began its invasion of the country last year.
The minister described India as a global leader and a ‘Vishwaguru’ which can play a role in addressing global challenges.
“I think India is a global player. It is really a ‘Vishwaguru’ of the world. We are feeling the pain by actually fighting for the values. This is about justice… Rusia is questioning the very existence of my country. In our history of 1,500 years, Ukraine never attacked any country,” she said.
In his bilateral meeting with Putin in Uzbekistan on September 16 in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, PM Modi had said, “Today’s era is not of war” – a comment that resonated with various world leaders and was widely praised.
Significantly, the Ukrainian minister said India should recognize the dangers of not stopping those who prefer to push their agenda with “impunity”, apparently referring to Pakistan and China.
Emine Dzhaparova told a gathering of diplomats, former envoys and reporters that the events preceding the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine last year could serve as an example of how to handle “difficult neighbours”.
“There is one message with which I have come to India. Ukraine really wants India and Ukraine to be closer. Yes, there is a history between us. But we want to start a new relationship with India,” Ms Dzhaparova said.
“India also has a difficult neighbourhood with China and Pakistan. The Crimea episode has a lesson for India as well. Whenever impunity happens and if it is not stopped, it becomes bigger,” she said.
