PM Modi set to meet European leaders amid western criticism over India's stand on Ukraine war

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to meet the leaders of as many as seven nations in Europe from Monday to Wednesday, New Delhi is keen to use his visits to Germany, Denmark and France to step up its engagements across the continent – keeping the differences over Russia-Ukraine conflict aside.

The prime minister is likely to keep stressing on dialogue and diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict during his visit to Berlin, Copenhagen and Paris, although India’s refusal to condemn President Vladimir Putin for its invasion of Ukraine has drawn flak from western countries.

“My visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices,” the prime minister said in a statement issued hours before leaving for Berlin. “Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity.”

Modi did not directly refer to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in his statement. New Delhi, however, expects that the issue would come up during his interactions with his counterparts.

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Modi will fly from Berlin to Copenhagen on Tuesday, both for a bilateral meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, as well as to take part in the second India-Nordic Summit. Apart from Modi and Frederiksen, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland will take part in the conclave.

“The principal purpose of the visit is for India to continue to strengthen its multi-dimensional, multi-faceted partnerships with key countries of Europe,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told journalists shortly after taking over as the top diplomat of the nation. He said that the prime minister’s visits would shape the forward-looking agenda for India’s strategic ties, economic cooperation and development partnership with Germany, Denmark and France as well as Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway for the coming months and years.

“Our position on Ukraine has been clear. First, there should be a cessation of hostilities; second, a solution must be found out through dialogue and diplomacy,” the new Foreign Secretary said, adding that India’s international partners had “understanding” and “deep appreciation” of its position on Russia’s conflict with the East European nation.

Even as Inida did not join western nations in condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, Modi recently hosted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission's President Ursula Von der Leyen, apart from several foreign ministers from across Europe. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also visited Washington for India-US 2+2 dialogue with their US counterparts - Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. The back-to-back engagements provided New Delhi opportunities to explain its position on the conflict to the western nations.

Modi will commence his visits from Berlin on Monday. He will co-host with German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the sixth edition of India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in Berlin. This is going to be Modi’s first meeting with Scholz after the latter succeeded Angela Merkel as the new chancellor of Germany on December 8, 2021. “I see this IGC as an early engagement with the new government in Germany, within six months of its formation, which will be helpful to identify our priorities for the medium and long term,” said Modi, who will also join Scholz in addressing business leaders “with the goal of energising our industry to industry cooperation, which will help strengthen the post-Covid economic recovery in both countries”.

The prime minister will have a stopover in Paris while returning from Copenhagen to New Delhi – for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, who has recently been re-elected to the top office of the French Government. “This will also give us the opportunity to set the tone of the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership,” Modi said.

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