New Delhi (The Stellar News) Saksham Kalia: Ukraine’s envoy Igor Polikha sought India’s urgent intervention as armed conflict with Russia started this morning, saying, “India is a very influential global player… We are asking for a strong voice of India”.
Igor Polikha said, ‘Modi ji is one of the most powerful, respected world leaders. You have a privileged, strategic relation with Russia. If Modiji speaks to Putin we are hopeful he’ll respond’.
“India should be much more actively engaged, given the privileged relation India has with Russia. Not just for our safety, but of your own citizen’s safety too, we need intervention of India,” Mr Polikha said, pointing to the 15,000-plus Indians currently living in Ukraine, whom the government is trying to evacuate.
“I’m dealing with India from my young student years and I know a lot about your history of diplomacy. You had such bright guys… like Chanakya, or a he is otherwise called, Kautilya, approximately 2500 years back when on the major parts of Europe, there was no civilization,” he said.
“Putin has just launched a full-blown attack. They must stop Putin now. It is a case of blatant aggression… the Russian statement is cynical. They are not just attacking military installations but we have suffered civilian casualties,” he said.
Calling the conflict unexpected, Mr Polikha said for weeks, their President has been “repeatedly asking for bilateral negotiations with Russia, but (there was) no response”. “We do not want protocol statements, it means nothing. We need support from the whole world,” he added.
