Six weeks after embracing Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Russian president called a“best friend”at the precise moment when Russian forces bombed a children’s hospital in Ukraine, Narendra Modi hugged Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, August 23, in front of the presidential palace in Kiev. The Indian Prime Minister arrived by train from Poland, where he was received by his colleague Donald Tusk for two days.
The event is historic in nature as it is the first visit by an Indian head of government since Ukraine’s independence in 1991, but above all it has restorative value. The Indian Prime Minister’s image had been seriously damaged by his stay in Russia, and his calls for peace had made no difference. The Ukrainian president responded by summoning one “a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s bloodiest criminal in Moscow”. The Americans had also expressed their disapproval.
This misstep had seriously jeopardized the balancing act that India has played since the beginning of the war, consisting of not taking a stand so as not to offend its historic Russian partner, the main supplier of arms and an indispensable ally against the Chinese rival, either not the Westerners, Ukraine’s allies. Since the start of the invasion in February 2022, despite Western pressure, India has systematically abstained from voting on UN resolutions condemning Russia. She has always refused to name the attacker. Ignoring pressure from the Americans and Europeans, New Delhi has significantly increased its purchases of cheap oil from the Russians, which helps finance Moscow’s war effort, as Zelensky pointed out during their meeting.
Call for dialogue
To repair the damage, the Ukrainian president and the Indian prime minister honored the memory of the children killed in the conflict by visiting a memorial dedicated to them. The two men placed teddy bears and held a minute’s silence. Modi, used to big hugs, took his counterpart by the shoulder. “Conflicts are particularly devastating for young childrenModi wrote in a message published on X. My heart goes out to the families of the children who lost their lives and I pray that they find strength to overcome their grief. » That’s it for the picture.
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