‘India, France tried to convince Putin to…’: French envoy on Ukraine war
2 min read 01 Oct 2022, 03:31 PM ISTFrench envoy Emmanuel Lenin also appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark “today's era is not of war” to Putin on the sidelines of of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan in September this year.
PremiumOne of the key actions by Indian and French leaders in past few months is to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to got back to diplomacy to resolve the Ukraine crisis, said French envoy Emmanuel Lenain as quoted by the news agency PTI.
“India and France, both are working on how to mitigate the consequences of war in Ukraine on food and energy security," the French envoy told PTI, adding, “We (India and France) feel President Putin wants to return to time of imperialism and that's what we want to avoid in Europe, anywhere else."
Lenin also appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark “today's era is not of war" to Putin on the sidelines of of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan in September this year. “I think it was a very welcome remark. We highly respect India's autonomy of decision on the war," he said.
PM Modi had told Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertilizer and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present.
Speaking about Russian invasion of Ukraine, the French envoy stated that it is very important for the countries to stand with each other and defend international rules. “We feel it's a naked aggression by a country on another - an aggression without any provocation," he told PTI.
"That's exactly the sort of statements we need, to call on Putin to stop this war of aggression and go back to the negotiating table," he added.
Earlier in July this year, PM Modi urged Putin to use diplomacy and negotiation to settle the Ukraine conflict. The Prime Minister had also made peace and an end to hostilities appeals to both Russia and Ukraine since the conflict in Ukraine broke out on February 24.
During their conversation over the past few months, PM Modi had also discussed the impact of the conflict in Eastern Europe on the food security situation, particularly in vulnerable nations, with world leaders at the G7 outreach summit.
France and India have been in touch with each other on the Ukraine crisis and the issue figured prominently during telephonic talks in recent months between Modi and Macron.
On Friday, Putin annexed four territories in Ukraine controlled by his army at a grand ceremony in the Kremlin and urged Kyiv to lay down its arms and negotiate an end to seven months of fighting.
Kremlin had declared that any attack against that area annexed would be considered an attack on Russia itself. It also stated that Russia would fight to annex the entire eastern Donbas region.
The envoy said France strongly condemned Russia's illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions and described it as a serious violation of both international law and Ukraine's sovereignty.
(With PTI inputs)
