President Biden welcomes Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ukraine for his message of peace

US President Joe Biden, in his phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra, praised the latter’s “historic visits” to Poland and Ukraine as well as his message of peace, the White House said in a statement.
The two leaders discussed Prime Minister Modi’s trip to two European countries and the upcoming meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“The President congratulated the Prime Minister on his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and continued humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector,” the statement read.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden affirmed their continued support for a “peaceful resolution” of the conflict “in accordance with international law, based on the Charter of the United Nations.”
The leaders also underlined their continued commitment to working together, including through regional groupings like the Quad, to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office had said that Prime Minister Modi briefed Biden on his recent visit to Ukraine and reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden discussed various regional and global issues. Both leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen cooperation in multilateral forums, including the Quad.
“During the meeting on the situation in Ukraine, the Prime Minister briefed President Biden on his recent visit to Ukraine. He reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy and expressed full support for the early return of peace and stability,” the statement read.
This conversation took place a few days after Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Poland and Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi visited Ukraine last Friday, the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the European country.
During the bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Modi underlined India’s position in favour of peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
“India has never been neutral, we have always been on the side of peace,” Prime Minister Modi told Zelensky. He added that India was ready to play an active role in the path of peace and progress.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since 2022. India has always advocated “peace and diplomacy” to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Later Monday (local time), the White House said they discussed peace prospects “in line with President Zelenskyy’s plan for a just peace.”
White House National Security and Communications Advisor John Kirby reiterated that Washington would welcome any country willing to help President Zelensky work toward a just peace.
“Any country that is willing to engage in this conversation starting with President Zelenskyy’s perspective, listening to him, signing on to this proposal – and I won’t speak for India and what they sign or don’t sign; that’s for the prime minister and his team to discuss – but we certainly welcome any nation that is willing to be helpful and start this conversation by embracing President Zelenskyy’s just peace proposal and hearing his views,” Kirby said at the briefing.
Speaking to X after the conversation, Prime Minister Modi said, “I spoke to US President Joe Biden on the phone today. We had a detailed exchange of views on various regional and global issues, including the situation in Ukraine. I reiterated India’s full support for the early return of peace and stability.”
Prime Minister Modi commended Biden’s deep commitment to the India-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The leaders reviewed the significant progress made in bilateral relations and stressed that the India-US partnership aims to benefit the people of both countries as well as all humanity.
During the telephone conversation, the two leaders also expressed their common concern over the situation in Bangladesh.