Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba visits India, says talks to include Zelenskyy's peace formula

New Delhi: Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who arrived here on Thursday on his maiden visit to India, said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries is "important" and it will be strengthened.

His two-day visit comes amid efforts to seek a peaceful resolution to the over two-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"I began my visit to New Delhi upon @DrSJaishankar's invitation. The Ukrainian-Indian cooperation is important and we will be reinvigorating ties. Building on the dialogue between @ZelenskyyUa and @NarendraModi, we will pay specific attention to the Peace Formula," Kuleba posted on X.

The peace formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022 follows 10 principles aimed at ensuring a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

His visit comes at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

On first day of his official visit, Kuleba visited the Rajghat here and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

During his weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to a query on Kuleba's visit, said there will be a 'bilateral engagement with the External Affairs Minister in which they will go over a gamut of issues that lie in the domain of bilateral relations'.

And, they will also "review the Inter-governmental Commission that was held earlier," he said.

The two leaders will also discuss regional and global issues of common concern, Jaiswal said, adding there are several other engagements also lined up for the Ukrainian foreign minister.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the government of India recognised the Republic of Ukraine as a sovereign independent country in December 1991. India and Ukraine enjoy warm and friendly relations, according to a 2013 statement on India-Ukraine relations available on the MEA website.

During his visit, Kuleba will have "a number of engagements, including official meetings with External Affairs Minister and Deputy NSA to discuss matters pertaining to the bilateral partnership and cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the MEA said in a statement on Wednesday.

He is also expected to interact with the business community, it said.

Prime Minister Modi on March 20 had held separate conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and asserted that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Modi had spoken to Putin over telephone to congratulate him for winning a fifth term in office in the recent elections, and followed it up with a phone call to Zelenskyy to convey India's 'consistent support' for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict.

During the telephone conversation, the Ukrainian President had thanked India for its support for his country's sovereignty and said that it would be important for Kyiv to see New Delhi attend the inaugural Peace Summit in Switzerland.

Zelenskyy had hailed India's continued humanitarian assistance for the people of Ukraine as the two leaders had discussed ways to further strengthen their bilateral partnership in various spheres.