 "Ukraine says India-Russia ties based on 'Soviet legacy' which is 'evaporating', urges New Delhi to rethink and stand by Kyiv")
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who began his two-day visit to India on Thursday, has said that India’s close ties with Russia are based on a “Soviet legacy” which is “evaporating” and urged New Delhi to rethink its ties with Moscow and stand by Kyiv.
“The co-operation between India and Russia is largely based on the Soviet legacy. But this is not the legacy that will be kept for centuries; it is a legacy that is evaporating,” Financial Times quoted Kuleba as saying.
He further said that India should be concerned about Russia’s deepening ties with China, which is locked in a tense border conflict with its southern neighbour.
“The Chinese-Russian relationship should be of particular attention for India in light of its national security prerogatives,” Kuleba told FT.
India has traditionally had close economic and defence ties with Moscow and refrained from criticising Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead increasing purchases of Russian oil to a record.
Kuleba, who is in India to advance Kyiv’s vision of the path to peace in Ukraine and strengthen ties with India, said the world’s most populous nation had much to gain from expanding trade and technology ties with Ukraine, as he offered Indian companies a role in postwar reconstruction.
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More Shorts“After the war Ukraine will probably become the largest construction site in the world, and Indian companies are welcome to participate in the recovery,” Financial Times quoted Kuleba as saying.
“We are interested in importing some of the heavy machinery items that India is producing,” he added, as Ukraine looks to restore trade with India, particularly of farm products such as sunflower oil and other Indian goods.
Ukraine hopes to hold a summit of world leaders without Russian participation in the coming months to advance its blueprint for peace, which calls among other things for the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory.
Ukraine was not against co-operation between India and Russia, Kuleba told the Times of India newspaper in a separate interview, adding that engagement between New Delhi and Kyiv had grown since the start of the war.
“Our job is to convey a simple message to New Delhi,” he added. “When you decide to engage with Russia, please know the red line for Ukraine is financing Russia’s war machine.”
Russia has dismissed the Ukrainian diplomatic initiative as a non-starter.
Kuleba’s trip to India coincides with Ukraine facing its most challenging period since Russia’s complete invasion in 2022. Moscow’s forces have seized the initiative on the front lines, and additional US military assistance remains suspended due to resistance from Donald Trump and his congressional supporters.
Ahead of Kuleba’s visit, PM Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke over phone last week. Kuleba is likely to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today.
With inputs from agencies
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