NEW DELHI: India told the UN Security Council on Thursday (Sep 22) that the trajectory of the Ukraine conflict was very concerning and that the outlook was more so, as New Delhi sharpened its calls for peace.
As long-term trade and defence partners, India and Russia have sided with each other for years. India has stepped up purchases of oil and coal from Russia since the Ukraine war began in February.
India has not explicitly condemned Russia’s aggression but Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin last week that this cannot be an era of war, in his strongest public comment on the matter that was welcomed by the United States.
“The trajectory of the Ukraine conflict is a matter of profound concern for the entire international community,” India’s foreign minister, S Jaishankar, said in New York. “The future outlook appears even more disturbing. The nuclear issue is of particular anxiety.”
Putin ordered Russia’s first wartime mobilisation since World War Two on Wednesday and threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend his country.
Jaishankar said surging costs and shortages of food grains, fuel and fertiliser could worsen with the escalation of the war, urging for an immediate end to hostilities and resumption of dialogue and diplomacy.
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