India to Ukraine: Dialogue is the way out

UKRAINE’S foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday (25) spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar to discuss the situation in Ukraine, ahead of a vote at the UN Security Council on the Russian attack.

Jaishankar said he emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the "way out".

"Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar said on Twitter.

"Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return," he added.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday (25) evening on a draft resolution on Russia's military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.

The draft resolution will “condemn in the strongest terms” Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

To a question about India's position on the draft UN Security Council resolution on the Ukraine crisis, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday (24) that India “has seen it” and that New Delhi's stand will depend on the final shape of the text.

"I am told that that would undergo considerable changes. We will wait to see the shape that the resolution takes before we can pronounce ourselves and the position that we will take on the issue," he said.

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Thursday (24) while Jaishankar also held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and stressed that dialogue and diplomacy were the best way forward.