Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country stood "firmly for peace" in the war between Ukraine and Russia during a Friday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
"We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace," Modi said.
Modi is paying the first visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister.
As he pushed for a way forward on ending the Ukraine war, Modi urged Zelensky to sit down for talks with Russia and offered to act as a "friend" to help bring peace.
The two leaders shook hands and exchanged a warm hug at the entrance of the Martyrologist Exposition at the Ukraine National Museum, before talks at the Mariinsky presidential palace.
"Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, Modi wrote on X.
Zelensky plans to discuss a summit on peace in Ukraine with Modi and also called for strengthened trade and military cooperation with India.
Four agreements between India and Ukraine are planned to provide for cooperation in agriculture, medicine, culture and humanitarian assistance, Indian officials said.
Putin hug 'disappointing'
Modi's arrival in Kyiv – a day ahead of Ukraine’s independence day – follows his two-day trip to Poland.
It also comes on the back of his trip to Moscow in July, where he hugged Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky said of Modi's trip to Russia: "It's a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day."
Friday's talks come at a crossroads in the war, with Ukrainian forces launching an attack on Russia's western Kursk region on 6 August.
Russian troops are also grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraine's east.
But it remains unclear if Modi could really become an effective dealmaker.
"No problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said in Poland on Wednesday before heading to Ukraine.
(with newswires)
