Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister arrived in New Delhi on March 28 for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties and cooperation with India, which considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War-era.

Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 29, as well as the deputy national security advisor, according to India’s Foreign Ministry. On March 28, Mr. Kuleba will pay his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site.

His visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladmir Putin, whom India has so far avoided criticising over the war in Ukraine. Instead, New Delhi, has stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue on ending the war and has expressed its willingness to contribute to peace efforts.

On March 20, PM Modi posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to say he had expressed to Mr. Zelenskyy “India’s consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing in an early end to the ongoing conflict,” adding that the country will continue to provide humanitarian assistance.

This came after Mr. Modi spoke to Mr. Putin to congratulate him on his re-election as President. According to a statement from India’s Foreign Ministry, the two leaders agreed to further strengthen their relationship, while Mr. Modi reiterated that dialogue and peace was the best way forward for the Russia-Ukraine war.

Under Mr. Modi, India has promoted itself as a rising global player who can mediate between the West and Russia on the war in Ukraine.

In his phone call with PM Modi last week, Mr. Zelenskyy said he encouraged India to participate in the Peace Summit that Switzerland has offered to organise.

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“Ukraine is interested in strengthening our trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade,” the Ukrainian President said in a post on X.

At the United Nations, New Delhi, has refrained from voting against Moscow, and has ramped up its purchases of Russian oil at discounted prices following the invasion.

Meanwhile, India has stepped up its engagements with Western powers like the United States and the European Union. New Delhi has been trying to reduce its dependance on Moscow for arms and technology because of disruptions in supplies due to the war. India is also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, along with the U.S., Australia and Japan.

On a visit last year, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova urged India to play a bigger role in helping end Russia’s invasion, saying Kyiv would “welcome any effort that is directed at resolving the war.”

Image used for representational purpose only. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan has rejected a report claiming that it sold arms and ammunition to Ukraine in order to secure a crucial bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on September 18 rejected as “baseless and fabricated” the Intercept report saying that cash-strapped Pakistan provided arms to the U.S. to get its support to clinch a $3 billion deal with the IMF towards the end of June to avoid default.

The Intercept, an investigative website, on Sunday reported that “secret Pakistani arms sales to the U.S. helped facilitate a controversial bailout from the IMF earlier this year.

The report said that the arms sales were “made for the purpose of supplying the Ukrainian military — marking Pakistani involvement in a conflict it had faced U.S. pressure to take sides on”.

Pakistan has struggled to maintain a balance in ties with the Kremlin and Washington since the Russia-Ukraine crisis began earlier last year.

“The IMF Standby Arrangement for Pakistan was successfully negotiated between Pakistan and the IMF to implement difficult but essential economic reforms. Giving any other colour to these negotiations is disingenuous,” Dawn News quoted Ms. Baloch as saying.

Ms. Baloch said Pakistan maintained a policy of “strict neutrality” in the dispute between the two countries and did not provide them any arms or ammunition in that context. “Pakistan’s defence exports are always accompanied by strict end-user requirements,” she said.

During a visit to Pakistan in July, Ukra­inian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had rejected similar reports that the cash-strapped country was supplying arms to Ukraine to support its military during the ongoing conflict with Russia, according to Dawn. He had clarified that the two nations had no deal for the supply of arms and ammunition.

Former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had also expressed similar views, maintaining that Pakistan had not signed any agreement with Ukraine for military supplies since the war began.

In July, the IMF transferred $1.2 billion to cash-strapped Pakistan, part of the $3 billion bailout programme for nine months to support the government’s efforts to stabilise the country’s ailing economy.