At UNSC meet on Ukraine , India says 'wellbeing' of its nationals is a priority

At the United Nations Security Council meeting on the Ukraine crisis, India reiterated that the “wellbeing” of its citizens is a priority for New Delhi when it comes to the precarious situation.

India has around 20,000 nationals in the country, most of them are students perusing medical education.

Speaking at the security council meeting under Russia’s presidency, Indian envoy to United Nations TS Tirumurti called for “immediate de-escalation of tensions” asking the member countries to take into “account the legitimate security interests of all countries and aimed towards securing long-term peace and stability in the region and beyond.”

This is the second meeting that was called in to discuss the Ukraine issue. It is taking place in the backdrop of the Minsk agreement.

At the meeting, India backed the implementation of the Minsk pact and talks under the Normandy Format.

The Indian envoy said, "We believe that the Minsk Agreements provide a basis for a negotiated and peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine. All parties should continue to engage through all possible diplomatic channels and keep working towards the full implementation of the agreements.”

The Minsk Protocol is an agreement that came into being in 2014-15 in an attempt to defuse the war in eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The agreement seeks to halt the conflict that began when Russia-backed separatists seized swaths of territory following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimean.

Russia, Ukraine, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe are part of the agreement.

The Normandy Format is an extension of the Minsk pact which focuses on implementing the agreements,

Germany, France and members of the Minsk pact are part of the Normandy format talks.

Calling for the early implementat9ion of the Minsk pact, Tirumurti said, “We believe that meetings under the Normandy Format will further facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the Minsk Agreements, including its key security and political aspects.”

He also welcomed the recent meetings of the Political Advisers of Normandy Format countries in Paris and Berlin.

"Any steps that increase tension may best be avoided by all sides in the larger interest of securing international peace and security,” he said while supporting “quiet and constructive diplomacy”.

Thursday's UNSC meeting saw a lot of friction between Russia and the US. In the meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia is planning to manufacture “a pretext” to attack Ukraine.

“This could be a violent event that Russia will blame on Ukraine, or an outrageous accusation that Russia will level against the Ukrainian Government,” he said.

Moscow, however, dismissed the West’s accusation. Russia was represented by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.

Notably, Vershinin visited Delhi a few weeks ago to brief India about the ongoing crisis in eastern Europe.

The last UNSC meeting happened in January under Norway's presidency of the council.

While no procedural vote occurred in Thursday's meeting, the January meeting saw 10 out of 15 countries in the council voting in support of having an open discussion on Ukraine, whereas three countries abstained, including India. Two countries, Russia and China, voted against the proposal.