PM Modi asks Putin to hold direct talks with Ukraine President Zelensky
Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi
Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi has called on Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to hold direct talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyin a phone conversation on Monday.
The proposal for direct talks is in "addition to the ongoing negotiations between their teams", according to Indian government sources.
During the talks that lasted for 50 minutes, Russian President Putin briefed Prime Minister Modi on the status of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian teams. This is the third telephonic call between the twoleaders in the last twoweeks. Both had held the first telephonic chat on 24th February, the day Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
The proposal by Indian PM comes even as Ukraine has been requesting Indian support to diffuse the crisis. Over the weekend, Ukraine's Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba had urged PM Modi to reach out to Russian President Putin to stop the ongoing invasion of his country.
According to Indian govt sources, PM welcomed the Russian announcement of a ceasefire and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in parts of Ukraine, including Sumy. Russia had announced a ceasefire for a humanitarian purpose that comes into effect at 12.30 PM IST.
The announcement came after President Putin's talks with French President Macron and has been announced for fourplaces: Kyiv, Mariupol, Sumy, and Kharkiv.
The key focus during the talks was on the safe evacuation of Indian nationals as PM stressed "the importance of safe evacuation of Indian citizens from Sumy at the earliest".
Around 500 Indian students are stranded in Sumy. President Putin had assured Prime Minister Modi of all possible cooperation in their safe evacuation.
India has launched 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate its nationals from the war-torn country that have crossed over to neighboring countries like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.
Under 'Operation Ganga', so far 76 Flights have brought over 15920 Indians back to India. Out of these 76 flights, 13 flights landed in the last 24 hours. In all, over 21000 Indians came out of Ukraine since the issuance of the advisory in January 2022. Out of these, 19920 Indians have already reached India.