'Dialogue And Diplomacy': How Global Media Covered PM Modi’s Visit To Ukraine

New Delhi, India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky have been met with notable international attention. PM Modi held “productive talks” with President Zelenskyy with an assurance of contributing personally to ending its raging war with Russia. PM Modi’s maiden trip to Kyiv amid Ukraine's fresh military offensive into Russian territory was the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister since Ukraine became independent in 1991.

Here's how the global media covered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The New York Times highlighted PM Modi's nuanced diplomatic approach, noting his recent engagement with Russia during a trip to Moscow.

"Mr Modi has carefully calibrated his country's relations with the two warring nations. On a trip to Moscow last month, Mr Modi hugged President Putin, and India has remained an important trading partner with Russia. India sent a representative to a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in June that Kyiv hoped would win backing for its negotiating positions in potential talks. But India did not join the nations that signed a communique at the end of the summit supporting three points of the Ukrainian plan,” said their report. 

BBC emphasized PM Modi's insistence on India's peaceful stance, referencing his visit to a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Kyiv as symbolic of India's commitment to peace. 

"India had never been neutral in the war, he [PM Modi] insisted. 'Right from the first day our side was peace,' Mr Modi argued, pointing out that he came from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, whose statue in Kyiv he visited earlier. But behind the language, the fact remains that India has never condemned Russia's full scale invasion and, in effect, has been helping to power Moscow's war economy with Delhi overtaking Beijing last month as the biggest importer of Russian oil - at a time it has been hit by Western sanctions,’ read their report. 

The Guardian framed the visit as historically significant, being the first by an Indian leader since Ukraine's independence in 1991. 

"The trip is the first to Ukraine by an Indian leader since the country's 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. It follows a period of strained relations. Zelenskiy criticised Modi's recent trip to Moscow, which came on the same day Russian missiles flattened a children's hospital in Kyiv,” it said. 

Nikkei Asia observed India's consistent call for dialogue and diplomacy while refraining from explicitly condemning Russia's invasion. 

"Despite Western pressure, India has not explicitly condemned traditional ally and weapons supplier Russia for invading Ukraine. Instead, it has repeatedly called for resolving the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. At the same time, the South Asian country has been doing brisk business with Moscow, particularly through buying discounted Russian oil,” the report said. 

Le Monde reported Zelensky's characterization of the visit as "historic" but noted the absence of immediate breakthroughs in the discussions. 

 “Zelensky called Modi's visit a 'historic moment.' But neither side showed signs of a breakthrough, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar later saying that it was 'clearly a complex issue' and that India believes Moscow should be involved if peace efforts were to progress.”