India, Austria offer collective support to facilitate peaceful resolution to Ukraine conflict

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer proposed a joint India-Austria initiative to restore peace and end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

New Delhi: Even as he moved from Moscow to Vienna for the second leg of his two-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to call for an early end to the Russia-Ukraine war and joined Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in offering all possible support to restore peace.

"I have said before that this is not a time for war. Problems cannot be solved on the battlefield. The loss of innocent lives, anywhere, is unacceptable,” Modi said as he and Austrian Nehammer addressed journalists after a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday. "India and Austria emphasize dialogue and diplomacy for the earliest possible restoration of peace and stability. We are both ready to provide every possible cooperation to achieve this”.

The two leaders also discussed the conflict in West Asia.

Modi urged industry leaders in Austria to leverage India’s economic landscape for high-quality and cost-effective manufacturing under the “Make in India” programme both for domestic and international markets and as a global supply chain destination. Addressing the industry leaders in Vienna, he spoke about India’s Production Linked Incentive scheme to attract global manufacturing companies in the fields of semiconductors, medical devices, solar PV cells, among others.

He noted that India’s economic strengths and skills and Austrian technology were natural partners for business, growth, and sustainability.

Nehammer proposed a joint India-Austria initiative to restore peace and end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“We had very intensive talks about the Russian aggression against Ukraine. For me as the Federal Chancellor of Austria, it is particularly important to get to know India's assessment and to understand it and to familiarise India with European concerns and worries,” said the Austrian Chancellor. “So, it was particularly important for me to hear about the Prime Minister's assessment regarding the intentions of Russia in respect of the peace progress.”

The Prime Minister flew to Vienna late on Tuesday after a two-day visit to Moscow, where he had several rounds of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including the 22nd India-Russia annual summit after a gap of two years. With Modi and Putin meeting close on the heels of a missile strike by Russia on Ukraine’s largest hospital for the treatment of minors suffering from cancer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took a not-so-subtle dig at both on X.

Modi, however, sought to reassure Kyiv and the US-led West that notwithstanding his visit to Moscow and his meetings with the Russian President, India remained on the side of peace.

The US urged India to convey to Russia that respect for the United Nations Charter would be the key to any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

New Delhi did get the respect for the UN Charter in the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict included both in the India-Russia joint statement issued on Tuesday and the India-Austria joint statement issued on Wednesday.