India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (L) and Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha (R) hold a joint press conference following their meeting in Kyiv on September 3, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)

Kyiv: Describing India as a global power, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Thursday said his country welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to move from an endless war towards an end to the war.

"Ukraine stands ready for diplomacy," Sybiha posted on X as he met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who arrived here to hold bilateral consultations with his Ukrainian counterpart amid escalating hostilities between Moscow and Kyiv.

"India is a global power and we welcome Prime Minister Modi's call to move from an endless war towards an end to the war," Sybiha said.
India has been consistently calling for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit earlier this week, PM Modi called for ending the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue.
"We must move from endless war towards the end of war, which is very crucial for the well-being of humanity," Modi said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
In August, 2024, Prime Minister Modi visited the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv and conveyed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the war.
Jaishankar's visit to Kyiv comes amid concerns in New Delhi over the killing of an Indian in the Ukrainian capital this week following a Russian strike.
In his post on X, Sybiha welcomed Jaishankar to Kyiv for "the first-ever dedicated bilateral visit of an Indian External Affairs Minister to Ukraine."
"This historic moment takes place amid escalating Russian attacks against our cities, port infrastructure, and civil shipping. Our capital is constantly under attack, and I appreciate my colleague's brave visit," he added.
He said that the two sides discussed the need to restore freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and global food security.
India has been concerned over a series of attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea in the last few weeks.
Sybiha said the two sides also discussed bilateral cooperation. "From infrastructure and the pharmaceutical sector to technological innovation and digitalisation, we are ready to realise our full potential," he said.
"We agreed to work on convening our next intergovernmental commission meeting to turn great perspectives into great mutually beneficial projects," he added.
In a statement, the MEA had earlier said that the minister's visit will focus on enhancing bilateral relations and also provide an opportunity to exchange views on regional developments and issues of mutual interest.
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