External affairs minister S Jaishankar met his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the margins of an European Union (EU) meeting in Cyprus on Wednesday and discussed the Ukraine conflict and bilateral cooperation.
Jaishankar is in Cyprus at the invitation of the EU to attend the Gymnich Forum, an informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states. He also held separate meetings with EU foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kallas and Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan.
There was no official readout on the meeting between Sybiha and Jaishankar, who said in a social media post that they had exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict and discussed bilateral cooperation.
Sybiha said on social media that he and Jaishankar discussed “Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and the battlefield developments — in particular, Ukraine’s growing initiative”.
He added, “I stressed that despite Russia’s attempts to intimidate our people through terror, including last week’s massive strike on Kyiv, Ukraine remains determined and grows stronger. Our message is clear: we want to end this war and achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace.”
Sybiha said that they also discussed peace efforts and the “importance of stronger global engagement”. He added, “As Europe steps up its responsibility, we would welcome India’s strong voice and input.”
Jaishankar said on social media that he appreciated his Saudi counterpart’s “assessments and insights on the evolving situation in West Asia”.
He said that he and Kallas discussed India-EU cooperation and the situation in West Asia but did not give details.
Ahead of her arrival in Cyprus, Kallas had said that the EU foreign ministers would discuss “how to dial up the international pressure on Russia”, which has carried out massive air strikes on Ukrainian cities over the past few days.
