Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv today, who is visiting the country to try to advance peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia.
The two leaders embraced at the entrance to the Mariinsky Palace, the Ukrainian president's residence, according to the French news agency AFP.
Modi is expected to discuss with Zelensky a peaceful solution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Indian and Ukrainian authorities have said that the visit will focus on strengthening economic ties and cooperation in defence, science and technology.
But it could also be an attempt by India to adopt a more neutral position, after what has been seen as a tilt towards Russia, a country with which it has historical ties, according to the US news agency AP.
The Indian prime minister arrived in Ukraine from Poland, travelling by train overnight.
Ukrainian media reported that Modi met with representatives of the Indian diaspora after arriving in Kyiv.
A crowd gathered around the Indian prime minister shouting ‘Modi, Modi, Modi’, according to AP.
‘The Indian community gave a very warm welcome,’ Modi said on social media.
The head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called Modi's visit historic.
Yermak referred to Ukraine's expectation that India can play a role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine with a ‘just peace’, referring to Ukraine's peace formula.
‘We respect India as a great democracy in the world and a powerful country,’ Yermak said in an interview with India Today.
‘But now it is necessary to say who is the aggressor and who is the victim,’ he added, alluding to the fact that India has never criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Before arriving in Ukraine, Modi called for diplomatic efforts to end the war during a visit to Poland on Thursday.
He promised India's support for these efforts and said that no conflict can be resolved on a battlefield.The visit comes a month and a half after Zelensky criticised Modi when the Indian leader met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the day Russian missiles killed dozens of people in Ukraine.
Zelensky described the meeting in Moscow as a ‘huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts’ and criticised Modi for embracing Putin.
India has always avoided condemning the Russian invasion and has instead called on Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi's visit is the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago.
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