India's Foreign Minister to Visit Ukraine and Poland
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to Ukraine and Poland from September 3 to 5, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday. The visit is aimed at enhancing bilateral relations and providing an opportunity to exchange views on regional developments and issues of mutual interest, according to an MEA statement.
During his visit, Jaishankar is scheduled to hold bilateral consultations with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. The discussions are expected to cover ways to strengthen India's bilateral ties with both countries, as well as regional developments and issues of mutual interest.
Context of the Visit
The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek on August 31, with the Russia-Ukraine war featuring prominently in their discussions. India has maintained that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward in resolving the conflict, while continuing to engage with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Jaishankar's visit also follows a telephonic conversation he had with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on August 26. During that call, Sybiha briefed Jaishankar on the situation in the Black Sea and discussed ways to restore freedom of navigation in the area. In a post on X, Sybiha said he had a phone call with Jaishankar and briefed him on the difficult situation in the Black Sea as a result of Russian aggression against Ukraine and intensified attacks on ports and maritime routes. He added that Russia's attempts to disrupt Ukrainian food exports pose a direct threat to global food security, reaching far beyond the region and putting millions of families worldwide at risk.
Jaishankar said he appreciated the conversation with Sybiha and reaffirmed India's stance on dialogue and diplomacy, adding, "India remains a steadfast advocate of dialogue and diplomacy."
Meetings and Diplomatic Exchanges
Ahead of the visit, Ukraine's First Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Sergiy Kyslytsya, held a "substantive meeting" with India's Ambassador to Ukraine, Anjani Kumar. In a post on X, Kyslytsya said the meeting was held along with Deputy Head of the Office of the President Oleksii Sobolev. He said they discussed prospects for Ukraine-India relations, including India's role in efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, and exchanged views on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "the time has come to move from an endless war to an end of war."
Kyslytsya also expressed hope for continued dialogue with India, saying, "We look forward to continued dialogue with India and to translating this shared interest in peace into concrete steps."
Recent Developments and Reactions
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that an Indian citizen was among 12 people killed after Russia launched a massive aerial assault across Ukraine overnight. The Indian embassy in Kyiv said it is in touch with the family of the Indian national killed in the attack and is providing all possible assistance for early repatriation of the mortal remains.
Separately, Poland's Ambassador to India, Piotr Antoni Switalski, said that the Polish Prime Minister's expected visit to India will send a strong signal to business partners and stakeholders that cooperation between the two countries has the "green light." He also noted that Prime Minister Modi was in Poland in 2024, and the two countries signed a strategic partnership.