Kyiv, November 2026 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the diplomatic process and possible steps to bring an end to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, according to a statement issued by the Ukrainian President's office.
The conversation focused on the prospects for diplomatic engagement, preparations for upcoming discussions in Abu Dhabi and India's potential role in supporting efforts to de-escalate the conflict.
According to Zelensky's office, the Ukrainian President briefed Modi on the latest diplomatic developments and said Kyiv was actively preparing for every issue on the agenda of the proposed meeting in Abu Dhabi.
Zelensky underlined that Ukraine remained committed to a constructive approach and expected Russia to demonstrate a similar willingness to reduce tensions and work towards ending the hostilities.
"The Head of State spoke about the situation in diplomacy. Ukraine is actively preparing for each of the issues on the agenda of the meeting in Abu Dhabi. The President emphasised that Ukraine always has a constructive approach, and the same willingness to de-escalate from Russia is needed," the statement said.
The Ukrainian President also referred to Modi's repeated calls for an end to the conflict, including his discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky said India could explore further diplomatic initiatives and engage with other world leaders to help bring the war to a close.
"The Prime Minister has repeatedly said, including to the Russian leader, that now is the time to end the war, not continue it. It is important that India finds what steps it can take and dialogue with other leaders to help bring the end of the war closer," Zelensky was quoted as saying.
Food security and the restoration of grain exports through the Black Sea emerged as important areas of discussion between the two leaders.
Zelensky highlighted the impact of restrictions on maritime routes, particularly on the movement of grain shipments from the region. He said India was prepared to contribute to efforts aimed at establishing food corridors and expressed hope that New Delhi would continue engaging with the concerned parties.
"Russia must understand that its economy and hundreds of millions of people in different countries suffer from blocked sea routes," the Ukrainian President said.
Both leaders agreed that their respective teams would remain in contact to take forward discussions on food security, maritime access and other bilateral matters.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO), in its statement, said Modi had reiterated India's willingness to contribute to all initiatives aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
According to the PMO, Zelensky shared his assessment of recent developments in the war with Russia. Modi reaffirmed India's human-centric approach and stressed that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
"Prime Minister reaffirmed India's human-centric approach and reiterated India's consistent position that the conflict must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. He conveyed India's readiness to contribute to all efforts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict," the PMO statement said.
The two leaders also discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation between India and Ukraine across various sectors for the mutual benefit of their countries.
The latest conversation comes amid India's continued diplomatic engagement with Moscow, Kyiv, European countries and the United States on issues arising from the conflict.
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had outlined India's diplomatic efforts during an interaction with Indian journalists on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta. He said New Delhi was discussing three specific areas with Russia, Ukraine and European countries: protection of civilian shipping and seafarers, restoration of grain exports through the Black Sea and preventing attacks on energy infrastructure.
Jaishankar said India was also coordinating these discussions with the United States, which has its own diplomatic initiative to facilitate peace.
"We've had discussions with Russia. We've had discussions with Europe. We've had discussions with Ukraine also about three aspects of the current conflict: one, not to attack civilian shipping and seafarers; the second, to find a way by which the grain exports from both Russia and Ukraine... find a way of restoring that flow because that flow has cut down very sharply in the Black Sea, and the third is with regard to energy," he said.
The External Affairs Minister described the issue of protecting energy infrastructure as the most complicated of the three areas, as different parties have varying interpretations of what constitutes critical energy infrastructure.
He pointed out that the concerns extended beyond refineries to electricity grids and ships transporting fuel, making it difficult to arrive at a common understanding.
Jaishankar said India was trying to bring the concerned parties together to address these challenges. He also highlighted the importance of restoring grain exports, particularly for developing countries in the Global South, which depend heavily on supplies from Russia and Ukraine.
He said Modi had discussed the conflict with Putin during their meetings in Delhi and Bishkek. Jaishankar had also travelled to Moscow for discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and visited Kyiv to engage with the Ukrainian leadership.
India has maintained communication with both sides while keeping Washington informed of its diplomatic efforts. Jaishankar said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was aware of the discussions and India's engagement with the different stakeholders.
The latest Modi-Zelensky conversation underlines India's continued efforts to support diplomatic engagement, protect global food and energy security and encourage a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
