Ukraine Foreign Minister Kuleba dials EAM Jaishankar, discusses cooperation on Ukraine-Russia peace formula

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday said that he held a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on bilateral relations and also discussed further cooperation on the Ukraine-Russia peace formula amid the ongoing war.

Taking to X, Kuleba said, “My first call in 2024 was with @DrSJaishankar on Ukrainian-Indian relations. I informed my counterpart of Russia’s recent escalation of terror and mass air attacks, which caused civilian suffering and destruction. We discussed further cooperation on the Peace Formula. In this regard, I informed my counterpart of Ukraine’s vision for the Global Peace Summit of leaders."

He said that the two leaders agreed to hold the first meeting of the India-Ukraine Inter-Governmental Commission since 2018 in the near future.

“The rejuvenation of this primary mechanism of our bilateral ties will allow us to jointly move forward in a comprehensive manner,” added Kuleba.

New Delhi has not been as critical of Moscow as others for its invasion of Ukraine and has even ramped up its buying of Russian oil - the lifeblood of its economy - while others have sought to buy less or ban it.

India has sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year that now is “not an era of war”.

India has also boosted its purchases of Russian oil, taking advantage of the deep discounts following a European ban on Russian oil imports.

Russia, like the Soviet Union before it, has been India’s main source of arms and defence equipment for decades and it has now displaced Iraq as India’s top crude supplier as well.

Meanwhile,  Russia launched a “record” 90 drones in New Year’s Eve attacks on Ukraine that killed several people and left dozens injured.

Most of the drones involved were downed by its air defences, Ukraine said on Monday. The attacks came just days after Moscow’s deadliest strikes on Ukrainian cities in almost two years of war.

Air strikes continued into New Year’s Day, with Kyiv saying its air defences had intercepted a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and a missile targeting the central city of Dnipro. Officials said at least two people were killed after a drone hit an apartment building in the northeastern Sumy region.

The mounting attacks and casualties come as both sides settle in for a protracted war after Russia’s full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, failed to achieve its aims despite the killing or wounding of hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians.

With inputs from agencies