India Reiterates Call For Peaceful Resolution Of Ukraine Issue Amid Rising Tensions
Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
New Delhi, Feb 4: India on Thursday reiterated its call for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine through sustained diplomatic dialogue, amid rising tensions with the US positioning additional troops in eastern Europe, in a face-off with Russia. Days after New Delhi abstained on a UNSC vote on the Ukraine issue, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a briefing on Thursday that on January 31 at the UNSC meeting India had made a statement and presented its viewpoint.
“I don’t have anything more to add to this, only to remind that we wish for long term peace in the region and beyond through constructive dialogue between all parties to resolve all problems through honest and consistent political efforts for a peaceful resolution.” On January 31, India had said at the UNSC: “We have been closely following the evolving developments relating to Ukraine, including through ongoing high-level security talks between Russia and the United States, as well as under the Normandy format in Paris. “India’s interest is in finding a solution that can provide for immediate de- escalation of tensions taking into account the legitimate security interests of all countries and aimed towards securing long term peace and stability in the region and beyond. We have also been in touch with all concerned parties.
It is our considered view that the issue can only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue,” On Wednesday, the US announced it is sending an additional 2,000 US-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 soldiers from Germany to Romania – ratcheting up tensions in Eastern Europe, as it accuses Russia of trying to invade Ukraine. The US already has several thousands of troops in Poland. On January 31, in New Delhi, the Ukraine issue had formed part of the deliberations between India and Russia during the talks between visiting Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vasilyevich Vershinin and Reenat Sandhu, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Russian side readout of the talks said:
“We informed the Indian Side about our point of view about what is going on around Ukraine and on the tensions fanned by the Western nations, NATO and the United States. “We also touched upon issues of insuring strategic stability in this area, the more so as Russia has repeatedly voiced its point of view publicly, and we once again communicated it to the Indian friends.” The US had voiced disappointment at India’s abstention from the UNSC vote on the Ukraine issue.
