NEW DELHI: Asserting that India is on the side of peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India believes there will be no winner in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and all will suffer losses.
Addressing a joint press event with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Modi said that from the start of the Ukraine crisis, India has called for immediate cessation of hostilities and stressed that talks are the only solution to resolve the dispute.
On his part, Scholz said he has invited PM Modi as “our guest to G7 Summit in June, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Germany”.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the discussions between the two leaders “covered key areas of bilateral cooperation under the overall strategic partnership, as well as regional and global developments.”
Here are the key points from the joint press meeting:
* Recent geopolitical incidents have shown that world peace & stability is in critical condition and showed how all countries are interconnected. We had said that talks are the only way to solve the Ukraine crisis. We believe that no one will be victorious party in this war: PM Modi
* No one will be victorious in this war. We are for peace. Due to turmoil in Ukraine war, commodity prices have increased. This will impact developing countries: PM
* I am happy that my first foreign visit of 2022 is happening in Germany. and my first telephonic conversation with any foreign leader happened with my friend Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Holding of the IGC shows how much importance we place in our strategic ties: PM Modi
* India is among our very important partners here. The world can only develop well if we are clear as to the fact that future relations in the world will be characterised and marked by many countries, not by a few powerful countries: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
* Delighted that the first Inter-Governmental Consultations of this Govt took place with Indian Govt. To me it’s a sign of the special quality of our relationship…I invited you as our guest to G7 Summit end of June & we look forward to welcoming you back to Germany: Chancellor Scholz
* We are ready to continue and deepen the close cooperation with India on global issues…During our 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations, we also focussed on global issues and these consultations help us deepen our relationship: Scholz
* India is a super partner for Germany in Asia in economic terms, security policy terms, and climate-political terms: German Chancellor Scholz in Berlin.
* Through its attack on Ukraine, Russia has violated fundamental principles of international law. The war & the brutal attacks against civilian population in Ukraine show how unrestrained Russia has been in violating the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. Thus, I repeat my appeal to Vladimir Putin – end this senseless killing, withdraw your troops from Ukraine: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin: German Chancellor
Ukraine crisis
Prime Minister Modi’s visit comes amid the Ukraine crisis, which has united much of Europe against Russia.
Modi and Scholz also co-chaired the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC).
“The Inter-Governmental Consultation between India and Germany illustrate the special nature of this friendship. Prime Minister @narendramodi, Chancellor Scholz and top Ministers from India and Germany meet in Berlin. @Bundeskanzler,” the PMO tweeted along with a photograph of the participating ministers from both sides. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaishankar and NSA Doval were also present in the meeting.
In his departure statement, Modi had said that his visit to Berlin will be an opportunity to hold detailed bilateral discussions with Chancellor Scholz, whom he met at G20 last year in his previous capacity as Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister.
He will be visiting Denmark and France later in the week.
(With inputs from agencies)
