Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on his country’s war against Ukraine.
Modi reiterated India’s position that the differences between Russia and Nato can be resolved only through honest and sincere dialogue and urged Putin to end violence.
Modi has said that the topmost priority of the government is the safety and the security of Indian nationals, including the students, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said in an emergency briefing amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Clarifying India’s stand on the tension, Shringla said India believes that diplomatic dialogue is the only way it believes.
Shringla also said Modi’s call with Putin was not because of the Ukraine envoy’s request but because India has a stake in the situation owing to its relations with both Russia and Ukraine
India is focusing on evacuating its 16,000 nationals still stuck in Ukraine, Shringla said, after Russian forces mounted a mass assault by land, air and sea on the former Soviet republic.
Teams of Indian Foreign Ministry officials have been sent to Ukraine’s land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania to provide assistance to any fleeing Indian nationals, Shringla told a press briefing.
Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine.
Besides Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were seen in a video of the meeting shared by official sources.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and P K Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, also attended the meeting.