PM Modi discusses Ukraine situation with Quad leaders

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with Quad leaders and discussed situation in Ukraine. The discussion included humanitarian implications of the conflict. PM Modi emphassed that there was need to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.

Quad is a grouping of India, US, Japan and Australia.

US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also took part, in the first such interaction since the leaders of four Quad countries held a summit in September last year in Washington. 

The virtual meeting was held amid Russia`s military action in Ukraine. A PMO statement said that the leaders discussed other topical issues, including the situation in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands. 

PM Modi reiterated the importance "of adhering to the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The Prime Minister underlined that the Quad must remain focused on its core objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He called for concrete and practical forms of cooperation within the Quad, in areas like Humanitarian and Disaster Relief, debt sustainability, supply chains, clean energy, connectivity, and capacity-building.

"Developments in Ukraine were discussed in the meeting, including its humanitarian implications. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement said. 

The meeting reviewed the progress on Quad initiatives since the September 2021 Quad Summit. The leaders agreed on accelerating cooperation, with an objective to achieve concrete outcomes by the summit in Japan later this year.The leaders agreed to stay in touch and to work towards an ambitious agenda for the forthcoming Leaders` Summit in Japan. The Western countries have imposed sanctions against Russia following its military action.

(With inputs from agencies)