Austrian and Indian foreign ministers Alexander Schallenberg and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar have called for peace talks to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, informed “RIA News”.

“India has a big role to play in this regard, Prime Minister [Индии Нарендра] Modi remains one of the few who regularly negotiates with both sides – with Russia and with Ukraine… We also expect a lot from India’s G20 Presidency… Our goal should be to restore peace so that the diplomacy can once again be connected to Ukraine. We are not that advanced yet, the solution still lies on the battlefield…but we must not forget our goal,” Schallenberg told a press conference, noting that “peace can be achieved at the negotiating table”.

“We insist on negotiations. The Prime Minister recently spoke not only with President Zelensky, but also with President [России Владимиром] Putin… I myself spoke with Foreign Ministers (RF) Lavrov and (Ukraine) Kuleba, ”said the head of the Indian Foreign Ministry in turn.

The Russian special operation in Ukraine started on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the protection of Donbass residents, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, his goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia.

The Kremlin has repeatedly spoken of Ukraine’s reluctance to negotiate with Russia. At the end of November, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that negotiations between the two countries were now impossible, since they were denied by the Ukrainian side. Then Peskov added that to resume dialogue, Ukraine must not only repeal the law refusing to negotiate with Moscow, but also show political will.