India ready to contribute to any peace process to end Ukraine conflict: PM Modi

The Ukraine conflict must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue and the country is ready to contribute to any peace process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday after holding wide-ranging talks with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The talks between the two leaders covered the entire range of bilateral ties as well as key regional and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict.

Scholz said a statement that the world is suffering as a consequence of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and asserted that no one can change borders through the use of violence.


The war in Ukraine has led to immense loss and destruction, he said, adding "it is a catastrophe".

"We have to make sure that countries in Asia, Africa and America are not strongly and negatively impacted by the terrible war of aggression," Scholz said.

Modi, in his statement, said ever since the Ukraine conflict started, India has been emphasising that the conflict must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

"India is ready to contribute to any peace process," Modi said.

The prime minister said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict has been felt by the entire world and developing countries are especially reeling under it.

He said there has been active cooperation between India and Germany in the fight against terrorism and separatism, and that both countries agreed that concrete action was necessary to end cross-border terrorism.

"We also reiterated consensus that reform of multilateral institutions is necessary to better reflect the global realities," Modi said.

In his remarks, the prime minister also said that security and defence cooperation can become an important pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Germany.

"We extensively discussed all important bilateral, regional and global issues," he said.

Modi said Germany was an important source of investment in India besides being its largest trading partner in Europe.

Increasing cooperation between the two largest democratic economies is not only beneficial for the people of India and Germany but also sends a positive message in today's stress-ridden world, Modi said.

He also noted that India and Germany were strengthening mutual ties for the development of third countries under the triangular development cooperation.