Jaishankar speaks to counterparts for safe evacuation from Ukraine

New Delhi, February 25

India has again suggested that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to defuse the Ukraine crisis during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s telephonic conversations with his Russian and American counterparts late on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made similar observations during his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few hours earlier.

“Just spoke to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the Ukraine developments. Underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward,’’ the Minister tweeted. He also broached the importance India attached to the safe evacuation of around 16,000 Indians from Ukraine. PM Modi had also touched on the need to ensure the well-being of Indians stranded in Ukraine with Putin. The Indian Embassy in Kyiv has also written to the Ukrainian President’s Office on the need to ensure the well-being of an estimated 16,000 to 18,000 Indians in the country.

Jaishankar has also spoken to the Foreign Ministers of neighbouring countries of Ukraine such as Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Team of Russian-speaking diplomats has been sent to the land border crossing of these countries with Ukraine to facilitate the crossing of Indians. Countries like the US and Israel had a headstart in this respect while Tunisia and China are sending planes to neighbouring Poland to pick up their citizens who have already crossed.

“Appreciate the call from Blinken. Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications,’’ he said in another social media post. The US State Department said Blinken discussed Russia’s “premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified” attack on Ukraine. “Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia’s invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire,’’ it said.

Jaishankar had also spoken to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to exchange perspectives on the Ukrainian situation.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said that India has maintained the best of relations with all countries concerned–the US, Russia and the EU–and has been in touch with all parties concerned, both as a member of the UN Security Council and as a country with a lot at stake in that region including many of its citizens in vulnerable zone.

“We have maintained that the parties need to talk to each other, parties need to be engaged and if there is anything that we can do to facilitate that engagement, we are more than happy to do. As we go along we will try and be as helpful as possible,” he had added in a media briefing.

On additional sanctions imposed by the US and allies, he said it remains to be studied what impact the curbs will have on India’s interests. “I think it would only be correct to acknowledge that factor, but the actual impact of the sanctions needs to be studied carefully and we will do that,” observed the Foreign Secretary.