PARIS, May 5 ― India and France yesterday called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi again stopping short of condemning Russia's invasion of its neighbour. India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked a...
PARIS, May 5 ― India and France yesterday called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi again stopping short of condemning Russia's invasion of its neighbour.
“Both countries unequivocally condemned the fact that civilians have been killed in Ukraine, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in order for the two sides to come together to promote dialogue and diplomacy, and to put an immediate end to the suffering of the people.”The two countries said they would “respond in a coordinated and multilateral way” to the risk the conflict would intensify a global food crisis, with Ukraine one of the world's main wheat producers.
Modi invited Macron to visit India again to deepen cooperation on defence technology and the transition to clean energy. Securing France's place in the region is especially important after Britain, the United States and Australia last year sealed their AUKUS security pact ― dumping a lucrative French contract to supply Canberra's next generation of submarines along the way.