NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova will ask India on an upcoming visit for humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia’s invasion, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
India’s foreign ministry said the Ukrainian minister was arriving in India on Sunday on a four-day trip during which the two sides would discuss their relations, the situation in Ukraine and global issues.
India, which holds the presidency of the G20 bloc this year, has declined to blame its old ally Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has sought a diplomatic solution while boosting its purchases of Russian oil.
“Ukraine has requested India for more humanitarian aid, including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and energy equipment, to repair power infrastructure damaged during the war,” the Hindu newspaper said of the upcoming talks, citing diplomatic sources.
Dzhaparova, making the first visit to India by a Ukrainian government minister since Russia’s invasion, will call on India to send a “strong message for peace” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is due to visit India in July for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and is due back in September for a G20 summit, the newspaper said.
While in India, Dzhaparova will expand on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s 10-point peace formula, and call on India to add its “crucial global voice” to building a consensus in its favour, the paper said.
Ukraine is keen to get an invitation to take part in G20 meetings and for Zelenskiy to be invited to speak to G20 leaders during their summit, the newspaper said.
Dzhaparova was expected to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kyiv, the newspaper added.
The Indian Council of World Affairs, a New Delhi-based think tank, said on Twitter it would host a talk with Dzhaparova on Tuesday.
(Writing by Neha Arora; Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik in NEW DELHI; Editing by Robert Birsel)
