Path of diplomacy, dialogue should be the only viable option: India on Ukraine conflict

United Nations, May 7 (PTI) The path of diplomacy and dialogue should be the only viable option for addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and no solution can be reached by shedding blood, India has said, as it reiterated its deep concern at the worsening situation in the East European country.

Russia on Friday hosted a Security Council Arria-formula meeting on ‘Systematic and mass grave violations of the international humanitarian law as well as other war crimes committed by the Ukrainian military personnel and militia and discovered in the course of the ongoing special military operation of the Russian armed forces.’ Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Pratik Mathur said that India continues to remain “deeply concerned” at the worsening situation in Ukraine and reiterated the call for the immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.

“We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. We have emphasised right from the beginning of the conflict that the path of diplomacy and dialogue should be the only viable option,” he said. Mathur stressed that India strongly condemned the killing of civilians in Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation. India also supports all efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine. “We believe that there will be no winning side in this conflict and while everyone impacted by it will continue to suffer, diplomacy will be a lasting casualty,” he said.

He reiterated that India agrees that the immediate priority is the evacuation of civilians from areas witnessing intense fighting and emphasised that it is in “our collective interest” to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to this conflict. India again welcomes the visit of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Moscow and Kyiv and his engagement with the leadership in Russia and Ukraine, he said.

Mathur voiced appreciation for the efforts of the United Nations in evacuating the civilian population from Mariupol. “We hope these efforts will extend to other areas as well.” Guterres on Thursday briefed the Council on his recent visit to Russia and Ukraine, where he had met with President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 26 and 28. “Throughout my travels, I did not mince words. I said the same thing in Moscow as I did in Kyiv…Namely that: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and of the Charter of the United Nations. It must end for the sake of the people of Ukraine, Russia, and the entire world,” Guterres had said.

Mathur stressed that it is in the collective interest of the international community to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to this conflict. “We continue to reiterate that the global order is anchored on international law, the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states,” he said.

Arria-formula meetings are not formal meetings of the Security Council. They are convened at the initiative of a member or members of the Security Council in order to hear the views of individuals, organisations or institutions on matters within the competence of the Security Council.