US President Biden commends PM Modi’s Ukraine visit for his message of peace

US President Joe Biden, during his telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, commended 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 PM Modi’s trip to two European nations and the upcoming United Nations General Assembly meetings in September.

“The President commended the Prime Minister for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector,” the statement read.

PM Modi and President Biden affirmed their continued support for a “peaceful resolution” of the conflict “in accordance with international law, on the basis of the UN Charter.” The leaders also emphasised their continued commitment to work together, including through regional groups like the Quad, to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office 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. PM Modi and Biden held discussions on various regional and global issues. The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the cooperation in multilateral fora, including the Quad.

“While discussing 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 early return of peace and stability,” the statement read.

The conversation took place days after PM Modi’s visit to Poland and Ukraine. PM Modi visited Ukraine on Friday last, the first by an Indian PM to the European nation. During the bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, PM Modi emphasised India’s position of peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

“India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace,” PM Modi told Zelenskyy. He said that India was ready to play an active role in the path to peace and progress. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in war since 2022. India has always advocated “peace and diplomacy” for resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Later on Monday (local time), the White House said they discussed peace prospects “in accordance with President Zelenskyy’s plan for a just peace.” White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby reiterated that Washington would welcome any country that wants to help President Zelenskyy work towards just peace.

“Any country that’s willing to come at that discussion by starting with President Zelenskyy’s perspective, by hearing him out, by signing on to that proposal — and I won’t speak for India and what they’re signing on to or not; that’s for the Prime Minister and his team to talk to — but we certainly welcome any nation that is willing to be helpful and to start that conversation by ascribing to President Zelenskyy’s just peace proposal and getting his perspectives,” Kirby said at the briefing.

Taking to X following the conversation, PM Modi stated, “Spoke to @POTUS @JoeBiden on 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 early return of peace and stability.”

PM Modi appreciated Biden’s deep commitment to the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. The leaders reviewed the significant progress in bilateral ties and highlighted that the India-US partnership is aimed at benefiting the people of both countries as well as the entire humanity. During the telephone conversation, the two leaders also expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh.