Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday showed optimism about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky learning good conduct and etiquette from Narendra Modi who visited him in Kiev last month.
"Regarding statements Ukrainian officials make about third countries and their relations with Russia, it's hard to call them anything other than insolence. Let's not forget that after Modi's visit to Russia, Zelensky himself claimed that Modi dealt a fatal blow to peace efforts. But then the Indian PM went to Kiev (Ukraine), and I'm sure he explained to Zelensky that decent people don't behave like that. At least, I hope so," the Eurasian sovereign state's top diplomat told RBC TV.
It is worth noting that Lavrov's remarks came in the context of the Ukrainian leader's criticism of Modi in the wake of his high-profile state visit to Moscow in July. Interestingly, it was his first foreign tour after being sworn in as the Indian Prime Minister for a third consecutive term following his alliance's victory in the national polls in June.
As Modi landed in Moscow, a Zelensky appeared to have lost his cool before calling Modi a "huge disappointment" for hugging the Russian President when he met him at the Kremlin.
"It is 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," Zelensky wrote on X at the time.
Meanwhile, Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Ukraine after the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1992.
After arriving in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland, Modi held discussions with Zelensky, urging him to begin negotiations with Russia to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Also, the Indian leader promised that he was ready to mediate between Kiev and Moscow to help achieve peace between the two warring nations.