India welcomes direct talks announced between Russia and Ukraine, says MEA

India on Tuesday welcomed Russias proposal for direct talks with Ukraine describing it as an opportunity to address their concerns through dialogue and diplomacyWhile addressing a press briefing on Tuesday the Ministry of External Affairs MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has consistently advocated the need for engagement between Russia and Ukraine to achieve peaceWe welcome the direct talks that have been announced between Russia and Ukraine The talks present an opportunity for both parties to address their concerns through dialogue and diplomacy India has consistently advocated the need for sincere and practical engagement between Russia and Ukraine to ensure early and abiding peace Jaiswal saidJaiswals remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called for resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine urging that they begin as soon as May 15 in IstanbulIn a televised address shared by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Putin emphasised that the talks should take place without any preconditions and that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should once again serve as the hostWe suggest the authorities in Kyiv to resume direct talks which they themselves interrupted in 2022 Putin declared We propose to start the talks without delay next week on May 15 in IstanbulPutin had further elaborated on the choice of venue noting Im referring to direct talks without any preconditions and we propose to start immediately next Thursday on the 15th of May in Istanbul The venue that held them before Well it is well known that the Turkish colleagues organised well proposed their services to organise such talks and President Erdogan did a lot to organise those talks in the pastReflecting on previous discussions Putin stated As a result of those talks back then a draft of a joint agreement was prepared and initialled by the head of the Kiev negotiating teams but upon the behest of the West it was thrown into the little bin He indicated that Western influence had disrupted the progress made during those negotiationsThe Russian President stressed that the goal of these negotiations was to address the root causes of the conflict and achieve a longlasting peace We are committed to holding serious talks with Ukraine in order to eliminate the root causes of the conflict to arrive at a longlasting peace in the long run in the long historical run Putin saidPutin also addressed the possibility of achieving new ceasefires during these discussions I cant rule out that during those talks we will be able to negotiate and come to terms over new ceasefires or truces real ones that would be respected not only by Russia but the Ukrainian side he explainedThe proposal came amid increasing international pressure for a ceasefire Western leaders including those from Germany France the United Kingdom and Poland recently stood alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv urging Russia to agree to a 30day ceasefire or face severe sanctionsUS President Donald Trump also weighed in warning that if the ceasefire is not respected the US and its partners will impose further sanctions Trump who has made ending the conflict in Ukraine a priority of his administration has dispatched his special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for highlevel discussionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params