Ukraine Foreign Minister to visit India to shore up support

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit India this month, seeking to rally support for a global peace initiative to end the Russia-Ukraine war, according to people familiar with the matter.

Kuleba will meet his counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during the trip, scheduled for the end of this month, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The ministers had last spoken over the phone in January. It would be the first high level visit by a Ukraine official to India since Russia’s invasion of the country two years ago.

Switzerland is working toward hosting a global peace summit by the summer, seeking a broad alliance of countries for the initiative, including from the so-called Global South. India, which has deep economic and political ties with Russia, has consistently pushed for dialog and diplomacy to end the conflict.

Kuleba also met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, where they discussed the need for peace. China is considering taking part in the Ukraine peace conference, according to media reports.

New Delhi remains skeptical over whether a peace summit without Russia’s participation will be effective, according to people familiar with the matter.

Switzerland’s defense minister said last month that Russia will most likely not participate in the first round of discussions.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking further information. India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

India hasn’t publicly criticized or voted against Russia at the United Nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently offered “warm congratulations” to Russian President Vladimir Putin on his election win.