Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with US President Joe Biden ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023.
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US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the war between Russia and Ukraine on Monday following Modi’s visit to Ukraine, as well as the situation in Bangladesh, where protests led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month.
Modi posted online that he had discussed the situation in Ukraine with Biden over the phone and “reiterated India’s full support for an early return of peace and stability.” He also said the two leaders had stressed “the need for early restoration of normalcy and ensuring the safety of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.”
The White House issued a separate statement (opens new tab) saying Biden praised Modi’s recent visit to Poland and Ukraine and that both leaders expressed their “support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law and on the basis of the UN Charter.”
Last week, Modi visited Ukraine. It was the first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history. The visit came at a sensitive time in the war started by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow progress in eastern Ukraine while Kyiv is pushing for a cross-border incursion.
Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold talks with Russia to end the war and offered his help in achieving peace.
Modi’s visit to Ukraine followed a visit to Russia in July, where he hugged President Vladimir Putin, the same day a deadly Russian missile attack hit a children’s hospital. That visit angered Ukraine and the US State Department said it raised concerns in India about relations with Russia.
Moscow has been a major arms supplier to India since the Soviet era, and Washington has tried to woo New Delhi in recent years, opens new tab, to counter China’s influence.
Modi said the two politicians also discussed the situation in Bangladesh, where around 300 people have been killed in protests, including many university and college students. The protests began in July with students protesting against quotas in public jobs. The events later escalated into demonstrations calling for the ouster of long-serving former Prime Minister Hasina.
After Hasina fled to India, an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn in. During the protests, attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, which has a Muslim majority, especially Hindus, were reported.
The government of Hindu nationalist Modi in Hindu-majority India has been criticized over the years for attacks on minorities, especially Muslims.
