Zelenskyy’s Comments Re Modi Are 'Most Improper, Disrespectful and Rude...He's Sending a Message'

Zelensky's comments about Modi and India are "most improper, disrespectful and rude ... he's sending a message": Former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal to Karan Thapar for The Wire.

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In an interview where he is outspoken and sharply critical of the comments made by President Zelensky about Prime Minister Modi and India, immediately after his meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has said Zelensky’s comments are “most improper, disrespectful and rude”. Asked if these comments, made to the Indian media in Kyiv after the meeting with Modi, was an attempt to deliberately send a message, Mr. Sibal said: “Of course, he’s sending a message”.



In a 27-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Mr. Sibal, a former Ambassador to Russia and France, was asked if this sort of behaviour and comments by President Zelensky should have been anticipated by Mr. Modi’s key advisors such as the Foreign Minister and the National Security Advisor. Mr. Sibal said “they would have anticipated this” but insisted that it was still right to go ahead with the Ukraine visit because it “completed the circle” and would also have “shown up” President Zelensky.



Mr. Sibal did not accept that, in the present circumstances, the Ukraine visit was ill-considered and a mistake.



I am only giving you the main broad points. There’s a lot more in this interview that you will discover when you view it yourself. Mr. Sibal’s criticism of President Zelensky is clear, unequivocal and forceful. He also calls him “foolish, childish and immature”. At another point, he said Zelensky cannot be taken seriously. All of this raises the question was the Indian Prime Minister right to visit Ukraine? Mr. Sibal insists he was.



I give below the questions asked. They will give you a clear idea of the issues covered and the order in which they were raised. Here they are:



1) You’ve described President Zelensky’s comments to the media, just hours after meeting Prime Minister Modi, as “most improper…cheap immature politics…talking down at Modi…and dictating policy to India”. Is this tantamount to discourtesy and rudeness on Zelensky’s part?



2) Let’s focus on some of the specific points Zelensky made. First, he said by bombing a children’s hospital in Kyiv whilst Modi was in Moscow, Putin “did not respect India or its leader”. He said: “If you attack children in a hospital during the official visit of the PM…it means he doesn’t respect the Indian PM.” That’s a swipe both at the Russian President and the Indian Prime Minister, made when Modi was perhaps still in a train on Ukrainian soil.



3) Second, he abruptly dismissed India’s explanation for buying Russian oil. He alleged India’s purchases were “generating billions of dollars that help fund Russia’s military” and then pointedly added “If India won’t buy oil, then Putin will be in big trouble…if we change the Indian attitude, we will stop the war”. This sounds like accusing India of complicity in the continuation of the war.



4) Third, he directly attacked India’s policy of maintaining a balance between Russia and Ukraine when he said: “We need your country on our side and it should not just be balancing between us and Russia. It’s not about the historical choice you should make.’’ That sounds like a direct rebuff of India’s position that it’s on the side of peace.



5) Fourth, as you put it, Zelensky “fundamentally rejected Modi’s peace bid” when he said India could be part of peace efforts but Kyiv wouldn’t make compromises on principles or values. He said: “I spoke about it with the Prime minister. We want him at the peace summit…but we don’t change our territories on any propositions”. This sounds as if he’s stressing his own 10 point peace formula, which includes Russian withdrawal from the Crimea, and which India has not endorsed.

Watch the full interview to know more.




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