On Tuesday evening, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a telephonic conversation with the Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi to discuss that the “UK and India should intensify efforts to promote peace and de-escalation in the region”.
Meanwhile Mr Modi “reiterated India’s appeal for cessation of hostilities and the return to dialogue and diplomacy” but did not make any reference to Russia.
The official statement said, “PM emphasized India’s belief in respect for international law and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states, as the basis of the contemporary world order”,
However, UK’s PM office claimed that both leaders specifically agreed that “Russia needed to adhere to the UN Charter and agreed that Ukraine’s integrity and territorial sovereignty must be respected”.
Mr Modi did not condemn Putin’s action in Ukraine but updated the UK PM in India’s support for the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. The nations also discussed issues of bilateral interests and agreed on the potential of further strengthening the cooperation in different areas including trade, technology, investment, security & defence, and people-to-people relations”.
The talk comes ahead of an expected visit of Mr Johnson to Delhi in April for a bilateral summit that was cancelled twice due to the Covid pandemic.
