India backs Ukraine peace: PM Modi speaks to President Zelenskyy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who shared his perspective on recent developments related to the ongoing conflict. During the telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India’s human-centric approach and reiterated India’s consistent position that the conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi conveyed India’s readiness to contribute to all efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict.  The two leaders also discussed measures to further strengthen India-Ukraine bilateral cooperation in various sectors for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries. Zelenskyy, in his post on X, said the two leaders discussed preparations for an upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi and the diplomatic developments surrounding the conflict. The two leaders agreed that their teams would remain in contact on global and bilateral issues.
Simultaneiusly, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said, “Spoke this evening with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Our conversation focused on the Ukraine conflict and ongoing diplomatic initiatives.” 
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are resuming after a lull of nine months, and the latest initiative is expected to focus on security guarantees aimed at preventing the war from restarting if a truce is reached. The talks had stalled over Russia’s demands that Ukraine hand over 2,000 square miles of territory.