India expressed its approval on Saturday regarding the upcoming summit discussions between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled to take place in Alaska next week, aimed at seeking solutions to the Ukraine conflict.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) supported this initiative, stating that India is prepared to assist in these efforts, recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast assertion that ‘this is not an era of war’.
India’s response followed shortly after the announcement from the US and Russia that Trump and Putin would convene in Alaska next Friday to address the Ukraine situation.
Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are set to meet in Alaska on August 15, with the intention of resolving the three-year-long conflict, despite cautions from Ukraine and European nations that Kyiv must be included in the discussions.
In announcing the summit on Friday, Trump remarked that ‘there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both’ Ukraine and Russia, although he did not elaborate further.
‘India welcomes the agreement reached between the United States and the Russian Federation for a meeting in Alaska on August 15,’ stated MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
‘This meeting holds the potential to conclude the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and pave the way for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated on numerous occasions, ‘This is not an era of war’,’ he added.
‘India, therefore, supports the forthcoming Summit meeting and is prepared to contribute to these efforts,’ Jaiswal mentioned in a statement.
Conversely, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy asserted that ‘Ukrainians will not relinquish their land to the occupier,’ emphasizing that ‘Any decisions made against us, or any decisions made without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will yield no results,’ he stated, further noting that the war ‘cannot be concluded without us, without Ukraine’.
Zelensky also called upon Ukraine’s allies to take ‘clear steps’ towards achieving lasting peace during a conversation with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies – which include the United States, EU countries, and the UK – convened in Britain on Saturday to synchronize their perspectives prior to the Putin-Trump summit.
“It is critically important that the Russians do not manage to mislead anyone once more,” Zelensky stated following a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, without providing further details.
This year, three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have not yielded any results, and it remains uncertain whether a summit could bring the two sides any closer to peace, as their positions continue to be significantly divergent.
Since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of individuals have lost their lives, and millions have been compelled to abandon their homes.
