Following Modi’s visit to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on Monday about the situation in Bangladesh, where riots earlier this month resulted in the removal of previous leader Sheikh Hasina. They also talked about the Russia-Ukraine war.
Modi stated on social media that he spoke with Biden on the phone about the situation in Ukraine and “reiterated India’s full support for early return of peace and stability.” The two leaders, he added, emphasized “the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.”
In a separate statement, the White House stated that both Biden and Modi “support a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law, on the basis of the UN Charter,” and that Biden praised Modi’s recent visit to Poland and Ukraine.
The first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine in modern times occurred last week when Modi made his trip. It happened at a tumultuous point in the conflict that Russia started in February 2022. While Kyiv presses for a cross-border incursion, Moscow is gradually gaining ground in eastern Ukraine.
Modi pledged to assist in bringing about peace and asked President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet for negotiations with Russia to settle the conflict.
Following his July visit to Russia, where he embraced President Vladimir Putin on the same day that a children’s hospital was struck by a fatal Russian missile strike, Modi traveled to Ukraine. The visit infuriated Ukraine, and the US State Department claimed it made India worry about its connections to Russia.
Since the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow has been a significant exporter of armaments to India. In an effort to counter China’s influence, Washington has been courting New Delhi in recent years.
According to Modi, the two leaders also spoke about the situation in Bangladesh, where protests in July started with students agitating against government job quotas and eventually turned into demonstrations to remove long-serving former Prime Minister Hasina, resulting in the deaths of about 300 people, many of them university and college students.
After Hasina escaped to India, an interim administration led Bangladesh Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus took office. Amid the riots, attacks were recorded against minority groups in Bangladesh, which has a majority of Muslims, particularly Hindus.
The Hindu nationalist Modi government in India, where Hindus make up the majority, has come under fire over the years for targeting minorities, particularly Muslims.
