NEW DELHI — India and Ukraine tackled on Monday bilateral cooperation and the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma said in his official Twitter account: “Pleasure to receive Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar. The two discussed bilateral engagements and cooperation going forward.”

On her part, Dzheppar said that she met Verma in New Delhi and updated on Ukraine’s efforts to fight Russian unprovoked aggression. Invited India to join President Zelensky’s peace formula and gain from Ukraine initiative.”

Dzheppar arrived in New Delhi on a four-day official trip as the first high level official to visit India since the Russian aggression in February last year.

Soon after landing in India Dzheppar said: “Happy to visit India, the land that gave birth to many sages, saints and gurus. Today, India wants to be the Vishwaguru, the global teacher and arbiter.

“In our case, we’ve got a very clear picture: aggressor against innocent victim. Supporting Ukraine is the only right choice for true Vishwaguru.”

She is also expected to meet Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi and Deputy National Security Adviser Vikram Misri and discuss bilateral relations, exchange views on the current situation in Ukraine and global issues of mutual interest.

“India shares warm and friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ukraine. Over the last 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has made significant progress in the areas of trade, education, culture and defense.”

The visit will be an occasion to further mutual understanding and interests,” a statement from Indian ministry had said.

The visit of Ukrainian minister is seen by many as an attempt to win over India which desisted so far from condemning Russia openly for invading Ukraine and to seek humanitarian support in the form of medicine and medical equipment and assistance for reconstruction of infrastructure.

In the first such visit since the war with Russia, Dzheppar Monday held a meeting with a senior Indian Ministry of External Affairs official in New Delhi.

“Discussed bilateral engagements and cooperation going forward. Wishing her a good trip. Her first as DFM, but a country she is familiar with,” Verma wrote on Twitter.

Dzheppar also tweeted about the meeting. “Updated on Ukraine’s efforts to fight Russian unprovoked aggression. Invited (India) to join President Zelensky’s Peace Formula & Grain From Ukraine initiative. Important to have India on board,” she wrote on Twitter.

Speaking to reporters outside the Foreign Ministry in New Delhi, Dzheppar said: “I briefed the deputy minister about the military situation, which is quite difficult than the reality.”

Asked about India importing energy from Russia, she said: “We are not in the position of instructing India, in their economic ties with other countries.”

“We only think that it is crucial to diversify, all of the resources, not only energy but also military resources... I think that India should be pragmatic in diversifying the energy resources, in diversifying military contracts, in diversifying political interaction,” she said.

Also, in an interview with broadcaster CNBC TV18, Dzheppar said Kyiv is requesting a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to Kyiv. “We are looking forward to welcoming him (Modi) in Kyiv one day,” she said.

The visit by the Ukrainian minister is the first official visit since the war began. Though India has refused to condemn Russia’s war, it has been insisting on resolving the dispute through dialogue and diplomacy since the conflict began.

Dzheppar, a Crimean Tartar Muslim, is expected to meet with delegates from the Ministryto discuss the current situation in Ukraine and global issues of mutual interest, according to the Indian government.

India’s Hindu newspaper reported that Dzheppar would call on India to send a “strong message for peace” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will visit India in July for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. He will return again in September for a G20 summit.

The Indian Council of World Affairs, a New Delhi-based think tank, said on Twitter that Dzheppar would also give a talk on Tuesday called Russia’s War in Ukraine: Why the World Should Care.

Rajeswari Rajagopalan – the director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi – said she believes India will use the visit to discuss issues that include “food security, energy security and a whole range of fertilizer shortages”.

The war in Ukraine has had a major impact on global supply chains and international trade in food and fertilizers, which have disproportionately affected the Global South.

Both Ukraine and Russia are leading suppliers of key food commodities, such as wheat, corn and sunflower oil, and Russia is also a top global exporter of fertilizer.

The Hindu newspaper cited diplomatic sources as saying Ukraine has requested more humanitarian aid from India, including drugs, medical equipment, and energy equipment to repair power infrastructure damaged during the war.

In October, Russia began an assault on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, hitting thermal and hydropower plants and the electrical grid.

The attacks damaged about 60 percent of Ukraine’s power plants and more than 40 percent of its high-voltage grid infrastructure. As a result, Ukrainians endured rolling blackouts from October to February. — Agencies