End violence, return to dialogue: PM Modi to Putin | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: PM Modi called up President Putin on Thursday and appealed to him for “immediate cessation of violence and return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue”.
Modi also “sensitised the Russian President about India’s concerns regarding the safety of Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India,” the PMO said, even as the Centre scrambled to bring back 16,000 Indian nationals.
Earlier in the day, the PM reviewed the worsening Russia-West stand-off with members of the Cabinet Committee of Security against the backdrop of a surge in crude and commodity prices amid the fear of military conflagration at a time when the world continues to struggle with the challenge of the pandemic and the resultant disruptions.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue. The Prime Minister called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue,” the PMO said on the Modi-Putin conversation.
“The leaders (Modi and Putin) agreed that their officials and diplomatic teams would continue to maintain regular contacts on issues of topical interest,” the PMO said.
The telephonic conversation came amid insistence by France that India shed its neutrality and join the global condemnation of Russia for ordering an assault on Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, the PM reviewed the worsening Russia-West stand-off with members of the Cabinet Committee of Security against the backdrop of a surge in crude and commodity prices amid the fear of military conflagration at a time when the world continues to struggle with the challenge of the pandemic and the resultant disruptions.
Earlier in the day, defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor A K Doval, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Petroleum Minister Hrdeep Puri along with senior officials attended the Cabinet Committee of Security meeting.
While the PM raised the concern for students with Putin, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
Jaishankar also spoke to his counterparts in the neighbouring countries – Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary – to facilitate the evacuation of Indian students and other nationals. While India had brought back around 4000 Indian nationals in the past few weeks, there are still around 16000 Indians in Ukraine.
With the UNSC discussing a resolution against Russia’s action, Moscow is keen that India continues to maintain its “balanced” approach to the issue at the Council. Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said India’s focus had been on de-escalation and that it was in touch with all sides. Asked about fresh sanctions on Russia, Shringla said unilateral sanctions on Russia already existed. “There are fresh sanctions now. It’s fair to say any sanction will have an impact on India’s relationships but we have to study what that will be,” he said.
Shringla said India continues to back dialogue and engagement to resolve the situation and that India has a stake in it as a non-permanent member of UNSC and also because of its close relations with all parties involved and because of the Indian people in Ukraine. “We will be happy to facilitate it and be as helpful as possible,” he said.
With Ukraine having shut its airspace shortly after the Russian invasion, India was forced to activate alternative evacuation routes for Indian nationals, including via Hungry and other western border routes. India’s main concern has been to evacuate 16000 Indian students who together account for more than 20 percent of foreign students in Ukraine.
A team from Indian embassy in Hungary was despatched to the border post Zohanyi to coordinate and provide assistance to facilitate exit of Indians from Ukraine. The Indian mission is working with the Hungary government to provide all possible assistance, said officials. Teams have also been sent to border posts with other neighbouring countries.
The Indian embassy advised students to face the situation with fortitude and to rush to bomb shelters in case of warnings. “We are aware that certain places are hearing air sirens/bomb warnings. In case you are faced with such a situation, google maps has a list of nearby bomb shelters, many of which are located in underground metros,” it said.
Government sources said additional Russian-speaking officials have been sent to the Indian embassy in Ukraine and are being deployed in neighbouring countries. The embassy in Ukraine remained functional.
With frequent air raid sirens in Kyiv, a large number of Indian students turned up outside the Indian embassy and, according to sources, while not all could be accommodated inside the premises, the embassy organized safe premises nearby and the students were moved there.
“This process took some time given the ground situation in Kyiv. No Indian national is currently stranded outside the embassy. As fresh students arrive, they are being moved to the safe premises,” said a source.