India summons Ukrainian envoy to raise Zelenskyy's criticism of Modi-Putin meet

India on Monday raised with the Ukrainian Ambassador to India the remarks made by his President Volodymyr Zelenskyy against PM Narendra Modi during his Russia visit.

The MEA had summoned the Ukrainian envoy on Monday and raised the issue, ET has learnt. This clearly indicates New Delhi’s displeasure with the Ukrainian dispensation on the issue of Zelenskyy’s comments against the PM.

It has also been learnt that India postponed a meeting of the joint working group on culture with Ukraine in the backdrop of the incident.


Last week Zelenskyy had criticized Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his dacha, calling it a "devastating blow to peace efforts."

He stated, "It is disheartening to see the leader of the world's largest democracy embrace the world's most notorious criminal in Moscow".

Last week Modi was on a two-day visit to Russia for the 22nd India Annual Summit after a gap of three years. The last summit took place in December 2021, when Putin visited Delhi. Modi’s visit gave a big push to the economic partnership.

During the summit, Modi had said, "Let's take war, any conflict or terrorist acts: any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die."

India-Ukraine ties remain lukewarm over Kiev's military ties with Pakistan, Kiev's criticism of 1998 nuclear tests by India and opposition against India's position on Kashmir in the UN.