S Jaishankar Holds Phone Call With Newly Appointed Ukrainian Counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a phone conversation with newly-appointed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha with a focus on boosting bilateral ties and finding a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

The conversation came nearly a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile trip to Kyiv.

"I spoke with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to build on Narendra Modi's historic visit to Kyiv and talks with Zelenskyy," Sybiha said.

"We agreed to take our bilateral relations forward in all promising areas of cooperation. We exchanged views ahead of UNGA and coordinated next steps in political dialogue," he said after the talks.

In a post on X, Mr Jaishankar said he was looking forward to working with the Ukrainian foreign minister.

"Spoke with the new Ukrainian FM @andrii_sybiha today. Congratulated him on his appointment. Look forward to working with him," he said.

Spoke with the new Ukrainian FM @andrii_sybiha today.

Congratulated him on his appointment. Look forward to working with him.

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It is learnt that the Russia-Ukraine conflict figured in the talks.

In his talks with Zelenskyy, Modi said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.

The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)