Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden on Monday discussed the Indian leader’s recent trip to Poland and Ukraine and the situation in Bangladesh.
Modi met with the leaders of the two east European countries last week.
“The President commended the Prime Minister for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector,” the White House said.
At his meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on August 23, Modi said that India is ready to play an active role in efforts to secure peace amid Russia’s war on the eastern European country.
Modi also urged Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a solution to the crisis, adding that “the road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy”.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
Apart from the war in Ukraine, the statement released by New Delhi on Monday also mentioned that the two leaders “expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh”.
“They emphasised restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh,” it said. However, there was no mention of Bangladesh in the statement released by the White House.
Incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities were reported in 48 districts of Bangladesh after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and landed in India on August 5. On August 8, Nobel laureate economist Mohammad Yunus took over as the head of an interim government in Dhaka.
A day after Modi in his Independence Day speech said that Indians were worried about the safety of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, Yunus assured the Indian prime minister of the protection, safety and security of Hindus and all religious minorities in the country.
Yunus had also said that the reports of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh hadbeen exaggerated in India.