India is a global player, can address global challenges, says Ukrainian minister during India visit

Visiting UkrainianDeputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar has banked on Indian leadership amid the ongoing conflict in her country. The minister on Monday met the Secretary(West), Ministry of External Affairs, Sanjay Verma, and will be meeting other officials and ministers as well. Speaking to reporters after the meet she emphasised that India, as a global player, has the potential to be a leader in promoting peace and justice worldwide.

"India as a global player really is the Visha guru of the world," Dzheppar said. "I think it's crucial that we are the victim of the War, of unprovoked war, of the Neo-colonial war."

Dzheppar stressed that the ongoing conflict is not about NATO or the United States, but about justice. "Russia has been questioning the very existence of my country," she said. "Within our history of 1,500 years, Ukraine never attacked any other country like your country. We never have this imperialistic and chauvinistic attitude towards our neighbours."

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Dzheppar hoped that India will play an active role in addressing global issues and challenges, particularly in the areas of economics, energy, and nuclear policy. Asked about India-Russia energy ties, Dzheppar, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, urged India to diversify its resources, including energy and military contracts, to avoid being dependent on any one country.

"We are not in the position of instructing India, in their economic ties with other countries,"Dzheppar said. "I think that India should be pragmatic in diversifying the energy resources, in diversifying military contracts, in diversifying political interaction."

She added, "Because what we see in my country when you are dependent on Russia, they will always use this blackmail instrument."

This is the first-ever visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since the conflict began last year. The conflict has had an impact on the global south with an increase in prices of food, fuel and commodities.

Despite the distance between Ukraine and India, Dzheppar hoped that the two countries will come closer in various ways. "We will come closer physically and politically, and then many other ways," she said.

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