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PM Narendra Modi met numerous leaders of various other countries including Italy, France, Korea, Canada, and Australia.
File Photo of PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August 2024. (Image: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
The one notable leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not hold a bilateral with, and with whom no interaction became public over the past two days, was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was at the G7 Summit in Canada where Modi and Zelenskyy were special invitees. It is learnt while a meeting between the two was scheduled, it could not take place.
The timing is significant as the G7 Summit came just after Ukraine’s big attack on Russia on June 1 when armed drones of Ukraine destroyed a large part of Russia’s strategic bomber air fleet. Subsequently, Russia had launched deadly strikes on Kyiv with missiles and drones this week – said to be the biggest such strikes on Ukraine’s capital since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
India and Russia have been close strategic partners. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation accepted PM Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India for the annual high-level bilateral meeting. During this call, Putin had also condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, describing it as “barbaric”. Putin was among the first global leaders to do so. India is also hoping Russia will deliver the remaining S‑400 air‑defence systems later this year.
Modi and Zelenskyy had met in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the last G7 Summit in Italy on June 14, 2024. Modi had also met Zelenskyy in a bilateral meeting in New York last September during his US visit for the UNGA session. This was after Modi also made a maiden visit to Ukraine last August to meet Zelenskyy. In all these meetings, Modi had impressed upon importance of ending the Russia-Ukraine war and offered his help.
But this time, Modi and Zelenskyy did not hold a bilateral meeting. Modi met numerous leaders of various other countries in bilateral meetings – namely Italy, France, Korea, Canada, Australia, and interacted with leaders of South Africa, Japan, Brazil and European Union as well as European Council. Pictures and videos of these interactions and meetings were made public. But there is no public picture of any interaction between Modi and Zelenskyy this time.
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
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