India has said that it backs a direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the ongoing conflict, amid ongoing efforts by Kiev and Western nations to pressure the other countries into accepting the so-called Ukrainian Peace Formula proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Our position on the conflict is very clear. We want that there should a dialogue, conversation and diplomacy... That would be the best foot forward," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question from Sputnik India at a regular news briefing in New Delhi on Thursday.
Jaiswal recalled that the Indian leadership has articulated New Delhi's stance on the Ukraine issue on several occasions previously.
In his meeting with Zelensky on the margins of the G7 Summit in Japan last May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed "India's clear support for dialogue and diplomacy to find a way forward".
In a telephone call between President Vladimir Putin and PM Modi last month, both the leaders discussed the Ukraine situation.
Russia has rejected Kiev's plan, while maintaining that it remains open to a dialogue with the Ukrainian regime.
In a bid to lobby global support for Kiev's formula, a total of four meetings have been convened by Ukraine and Western countries, with the most recent meeting having taken place in Davos on the margins of the World Economic Forum (WEF) last month. The western countries have deliberately excluded Moscow from these meetings.
Last month, the Russian foreign ministry described these meetings as "pointless and harmful".
“There is a growing understanding that no overall, fair and sustainable peace can be achieved by focusing on the ultimatum of the Zelensky formula”, the Russian foreign ministry warned.