Dissatisfied with India's position: Ukrainian envoy urges Modi to help

Ukraine is “deeply dissatisfied” with India’s position on the crisis arising out of Russian military offensive, Ambassador Igor Polikha said on Thursday and sought New Delhi’s support in defusing the situation.

The Ukrainian ambassador said India has special relationship with Russia and it can play a more proactive role in de-escalation of the situation.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among very few leaders whom President Vladimir Putin listens to and New Delhi can use its proximity with Moscow to control the situation.

The envoy said Ukraine has been following India’s position on the crisis and it is “deeply dissatisfied” with it.

His comments came a day after Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said India has been playing a vital role as a responsible global power and it takes an “independent and balanced” approach to world affairs.

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday night, India had called for “restraint on all sides”.

It stressed that the immediate priority is “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.