Sawt Falasteen - Modi says 'firmly for peace' on historic Ukraine visit

Modi was in Kyiv just over a month after angering Ukraine by hugging President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow.

Arriving for talks on Friday, he embraced Zelensky and the pair held a minute of silence at a memorial commemorating children killed in Russia's invasion.

New Delhi, which has avoided explicit condemnation of Moscow's invasion, has cast itself as a possible peacemaker between the warring neighbours.

"We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace," he told Zelensky.

He earlier said that "no problem should be solved on the battlefield."

His visit comes as Kyiv's forces are mounting a major incursion into Russia's Kursk region, while Moscow's army is advancing in eastern Ukraine.

The Indian leader pledged humanitarian support for Kyiv, saying: "Whatever help is required from a humanitarian standpoint, India will always stand with you."

Zelensky called Modi's visit a "historic moment".

But neither side showed signs of a breakthrough, with India's 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.

India took part in a Kyiv-led international peace summit in June, but Jaishankar said that "productive (talks) will naturally have to involve the other party concerned."

- 'Truly heartbreaking' -

As Modi arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine said that Russian strikes had killed eight civilians in several regions.

Modi began his visit by accompanying Zelensky to an exhibit commemorating children killed in the war.

"I realised that the first casualty of war is in fact innocent children," Modi said. "And that is truly heartbreaking."

He was criticised in July for hugging Putin in Moscow hours after a Russian strike on a Kyiv children's hospital.

It is not yet known how effective Modi could be as a deal-maker.

Jaishankar said the pair held "very open and in many ways constructive talks" and that Modi had invited Zelensky to India.

He said New Delhi is willing to do "whatever we can because we think that the continuation of this conflict is terrible for Ukraine and the world."

India has not joined in UN sanctions over the invasion and is a major buyer of Russian oil.

Jaishankar said it was not in line with the country's "political-diplomatic history" to impose sanctions on countries.

- Indian diplomacy -

But Russia's Ukraine invasion has also put some strain on relations between India and Russia.

In the first year of the invasion in 2022, Putin publicly acknowledged that Modi had "concerns" over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

India has also been angry at Moscow over reports of several Indian citizens dying in Ukraine after being enlisted with Russian forces.

Western powers have in recent years pressured New Delhi to distance itself from Russia.

Modi's visit came more than two weeks into Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

Jaishankar said the incursion came up in conversation between Zelensky and Modi, but did not elaborate.

Ukraine has said one of the aims of launching its surprise offensive into the Kursk region on August 6 was to force Moscow into "fair" negotiations.

While there was no sign of any serious talks to end the war before then, Russia has said the counter-offensive now makes them impossible.

Putin earlier this year said Kyiv would have to abandon territory in four of its regions which Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to opening talks -- a hardline demand that drew scorn in Kyiv and the West.

Zelensky has also ruled out direct negotiations with Putin.

Even as Moscow scrambles to fight off the Ukrainian attack into its western Kursk region, its forces are still advancing in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, capturing several towns and villages in recent days.

Kyiv has ordered some evacuations from Pokrovsk -- a key strategic and logistics hub in the region -- amid fears it could fall to Russia.

N.Awad--SF-PST