WARSAW: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Warsaw on Wednesday for a historic visit to Poland before travelling on to Ukraine later this week to campaign for a “peaceful resolution” of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Modi will be the first Indian premier to visit Ukraine and first in 45 years to travel to Poland, Ukraine’s staunch ally and neighbour, and a key transit for foreign leaders heading to Kyiv.
He is expected to meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda on Thursday, as well as with Indian nationals living in the Central European country.
Poland “needs a lasting partnership with India,” deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters before Modi’s visit.
Modi has trodden a delicate balance between maintaining India’s historically warm ties with Russia while courting closer security partnerships with Western nations as a bulwark against regional rival China.
His government has avoided explicit condemnations of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to resolve their differences through dialogue.
“As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region,” Modi said in a statement published Wednesday before his departure for Poland.
In Kyiv, Modi will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and “share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict,” the statement added.
Zelensky said on Monday that “a number of documents are also expected to be signed” during Modi’s visit.
In July, hours after Russia pummelled multiple cities across Ukraine, Modi visited Moscow and was pictured hugging Putin at his residence, drawing condemnation from Zelensky.
Modi also visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in New Delhi two years later, weeks before Moscow began its offensive against Ukraine.
India has largely shied away from explicit condemnation of Russia and abstained on UN resolutions targeting the Kremlin.
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