Ukraine foreign minister visits India to build support for peace blueprint

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a meeting with Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 13, 2024. Gleb Garanich/ File Photo

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to advance Kyiv's vision of the path to peace in Ukraine and to strengthen ties with India.

"Building on the dialogue between (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy) and (Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi), we will pay specific attention to the peace formula," Kuleba wrote on social media platform X.

Ukraine hopes to hold a summit of world leaders without Russian participation in the coming months to advance its blueprint for peace, a "formula" that calls among other things for the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory.

Russia has dismissed the Ukrainian diplomatic initiative as a non-starter.

Modi held separate phone calls last week with Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of Kuleba's visit.

India has traditionally had close economic and defence ties with Moscow and refrained from criticising Russia over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead increasing purchases of Russian oil to record levels.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)