NEW YORK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden held a virtual meeting on Monday evening, with Modi describing both countries as natural partners.
The prime minister described the situation in Ukraine as "extremely concerning," and said he had repeated telephone discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for peace. Modi also recommended Zelenskyy and Putin to speak with one other directly.
"I applaud India's humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. We're going to keep talking about how to deal with the destabilising impacts of the Russian war "Biden said. "Continued consultation and communication are critical to ensure that the US-India partnership grows deeper and stronger, delivering our people and the global good that we all seek, especially in your part of the world," Biden added.
Modi spoke about India's humanitarian aid to Ukraine and criticised the "extremely disturbing" killings of civilians in Bucha, saying that the Parliament had comprehensive talks on Ukraine.
"We have delivered medicines and other humanitarian materials to Ukraine and its neighbours," Modi added. "We will be sending them another cargo of medicines very soon, on Ukraine's request."
"The news of the killings of innocent civilians in Bucha was alarming recently. We immediately condemned the killings and demanded an impartial investigation "He said this while speaking in Hindi with simultaneous English interpretation.
The summit took place before External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. The summit is "very important" since it "will provide direction for discussions" at the 2+2 conference, Modi remarked.
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