Indian PM Modi to advocate 'peace' on historic Ukraine visit

KYIV (Ukraine), Aug 23 (AFP/Reuters): KYIV, Aug 23 (Reuters): India's Narendra Modi met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in wartime Kyiv on Friday, weeks after the Ukrainian leader blasted the Indian prime minister over his trip to Moscow.
For Modi, the visit is a chance to clear the air after he was shown embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin at talks in July as Moscow staged a massive missile strike on Ukraine that struck a children's hospital.
As he welcomed the Indian prime minister to the Marinskiy presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced Modi with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.
"Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," the post said.
"No problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said ahead of his visit, adding that India supports "dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible".
He is the first Indian premier to visit Ukraine.
A diplomatic breakthrough between Moscow and Kyiv looks more elusive than ever following Ukraine's shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region.
It is also unclear whether Modi himself could be an effective dealmaker, seen by many in Ukraine as too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He recently drew fresh condemnation in Kyiv for hugging the Russian leader during a visit to Moscow in July.
Modi said he planned to "share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict" with Zelensky, as well as discuss "deepening the India-Ukraine friendship".
He was in Poland on Thursday before departing for Ukraine.
The visit is important for Western-backed Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South in its efforts to secure a fair settlement to end the war with Russia.
India, which has traditionally had close economic and defence ties with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but it has also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow.
The trip comes at a volatile juncture in the fighting, with Ukrainian forces still in Russia's western Kursk region following their incursion on Aug. 6 and Russian troops grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraine's east.