What India said about Ukraine’s search for a G20 seat

New Delhi:

Referring to Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzhaparova, who called on India to include Ukrainian representatives in the G20 meetings, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday that “the list of participants has already been announced.”

“We have answered the question in the past. In terms of participation, I have nothing to add for the time being.”

“Our foreign minister mentioned that the list of participants has already been announced. I have no news on that,” Mr Bagchi said during the weekly briefing.

During her visit to Delhi on Tuesday, Dzhaparova urged India at a think tank, the Indian Council on World Affairs, to consider Ukrainian representatives at the G20 meetings, adding that its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be happy to address the G-20 summit in New Delhi, which will take place in September this year.

“Our expectations are very clear. We believe that discussing the economy and future economy, the economic situation in the world is impossible without discussing the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the minister said.

“Because it has implications for economic growth and the economies of the G20. So our message to India is to consider the participation of representatives of Ukraine in G20 events, be it side events or the summit that will be at parliamentary level or the September summit that will be held in New Delhi. I believe that my President will also be happy to speak for the Ukrainian people,” she added.

MEA spokesman Bagchi responded to every leader who came to Kyiv from India and to Dzhaparova’s comment on India’s actions demonstrating an unbalanced position, saying: “If there is a visit of a leader here in Ukraine, we will.” announce with certainty”.

“Our position on the conflict in Ukraine has been articulated many times. I don’t know the word “unbalanced”. It’s not something we’ve worked with. We certainly worked towards peace and I think dialogue and diplomacy are what we emphasized. So if there is a visit we will surely share that. But I don’t want to respond to a specific word without knowing the full context,” he added in response to the minister’s comment on India’s actions, which showed unbalanced positional comments she made during their interaction.

During their conversation, Dzhaparova also said: “Today, India plays a very important role in the world. The presidency of the G20 brings additional responsibilities. India can provide that leadership by including Ukraine on its agenda and helping Ukraine tell its story. Personal contact is the best form of communication.”

India took over the G20 presidency from Indonesia on December 1, 2022 and will convene the first G20 summit in the country in 2023. Zelenskyy spoke at the G20 summit in Bali via video conference.

In a first visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since the start of the Ukraine war in February last year, Dzhaparova also noted the exchange of high-level visits between India and Russia and suggested similar visits to Ukraine be made, particularly by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

“As National Security Advisor Doval has visited Moscow three times, he may wish to come to Ukraine to demonstrate a balanced position while India holds the G-20 presidency,” she suggested.

During her visit, Dzhaporava also held talks with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi. In a tweet, Ms Lekhi said the two exchanged views on bilateral and global issues of mutual interest. “Ukraine has been pledged increased humanitarian aid,” she said, while Dzhaparova described the meeting as “fruitful.”

The Ukrainian minister also said that it is time to resume ties and that both countries have a better and deeper relationship.

(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated feed.)