India calls for end to Ukraine-Russia conflict at the UN, says return to dialogue

India on told the UN Security Council that the need of the hour is to end the conflict in Ukraine and return to dialogue and said the nuclear issue is a particular anxiety, underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this cannot be an era of war.

"The trajectory of the Ukraine conflict is a matter of profound concern for the entire international community. The future outlook appears even more disturbing. The nuclear issue is a particular anxiety," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the 15-nation UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine ‘Fight against impunity’.

The briefing, chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, was held Thursday as world leaders gathered in the UN headquarters for the high-level 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

Addressing the Council briefing were UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Foreign Ministers of other UNSC members.

Jaishankar told the Council that in a globalised world, the impact of the conflict is being felt even in distant regions. "We have all experienced its consequences in terms of surging costs and actual shortages of food grains, fertilizers and fuel." "On this core too, there are good grounds to be worried about what awaits us," he said.

He said the Global South, especially, is feeling the pain very acutely. "We must therefore not initiate measures that further complicates the struggling global economy. That is why India strongly reiterates the need for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and a return to dialogue and diplomacy,” Jaishankar said.

Referring to Modi’s remark to Putin on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Uzbekistan's Samarkand that "today's era is not of war”, Jaishankar said at the UN Security Council "Clearly, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized, this cannot be an era of war." "On our part, we are also providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic support to some of our neighbours under economic stress," he said.

Jaishankar emphasised that the “need of the hour is to end this conflict in Ukraine and return to the negotiating table.

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