UNSC meet on Ukraine: Well-being of our nationals a priority, says India
Zee News
Indian envoy to United Nations TS Tirumurti called for "immediate de-escalation of tensions" that takes into "account the legitimate security interests of all countries and aimed towards securing long-term peace and stability in the region and beyond."
New Delhi: At the United Nation's Security Council meeting on the Ukraine crisis, India has reiterated that the "well-being" of its nationals is a priority for New Delhi when it comes to the precarious situation. India has around 20,000 nationals in the country, most of them are students pursuing medicine.
Speaking at the meeting that happened under the Russian presidency of the security council, Indian envoy to United Nations TS Tirumurti called for "immediate de-escalation of tensions" that takes into "account the legitimate security interests of all countries and aimed towards securing long-term peace and stability in the region and beyond."
This is the second such meeting on Ukraine and took place under the header of implementation of the Minsk pacts. The last meeting happened last month under Norway's presidency of the council. While no vote happened in Thursday's meeting, at the January meeting, out of 15 members of the council, 10 supported the West, two were against, which included Russia and China. 3 abstained from voting, which included India.
At the meeting, India backed the implementation of the Minsk pact and talks under the Normandy format. The Indian envoy said, "We believe that the Minsk Agreements provide a basis for a negotiated and peaceful settlement of the situation in Eastern Ukraine. We are urging all parties to continue to engage through all possible diplomatic channels and keep working towards the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements."
Minsk pact, which includes Russia, Ukraine, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is a 2014/2015 agreement that calls for ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and others, among other things. The Normandy format of talks includes Germany, France and members of the Minsk pact and basically focuses on the pact's implementation.
