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India in touch with Moscow to speed up Ukraine peace effort, says envoy Vinay Kumar
Speaking in Kazan, India's ambassador to Russia also warned Indians against fake job offers that end with recruitment into the Russian army.
Key points
- India is talking to Russian interlocutors to push dialogue on Ukraine, the envoy said.
- He urged job seekers to get offers verified by the embassy before travelling to Russia.
- Of 227 Indians recruited into Russia's forces, 51 have died.
India is in contact with Russian officials to help bring the war in Ukraine to an early end through talks, India’s Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar said on Friday.
Speaking in the Russian city of Kazan, Kumar repeated New Delhi’s position that diplomatic engagement should come first in ending the fighting. “The Prime Minister has repeatedly said, and so has the Minister of External Affairs, that dialogue and diplomacy should be prioritised for the resolution of the conflict; any conflict, for that matter,” he said.
“We remain in touch with the interlocutors on the Russian side also to see that dialogue and diplomacy are used to expeditiously resolve this conflict,” he added.
India has kept channels open with both Moscow and Kyiv. Earlier this month, the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs reviewed those efforts, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s contacts with Ukrainian and Russian officials.
A warning on job offers
Kumar also warned Indians against overseas job offers that have led some into the Russian military.
“We have been regularly issuing advisories for Indian citizens not to fall prey to these offers. Anybody who gets an offer to work abroad, including in Russia, should contact the embassy, get the offer verified before traveling to Russia so that we avoid this kind of malpractices which attract Indian citizens in a harmful way,” he said.
In September, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said 227 Indian nationals had been recruited into the Russian armed forces. Of them, 139 have been discharged and 51 have died.