Modi says 'firmly for peace' on historic Ukraine visit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his first visit to Kiev on Friday to again call for a diplomatic solution to more than two years of war with Russia, saying he stood "firmly for peace" in talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Modi was in Kiev just over a month after angering Ukraine by hugging Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow.

His visit also came as Kiev's forces are mounting a major incursion into Russia's Kursk region, while Moscow's army is advancing in eastern Ukraine.

Arriving for talks on Friday in the first visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister, he embraced Zelensky, and the pair held a minute of silence at a memorial commemorating children killed in Russia's invasion.

New Delhi, which has avoided explicit condemnation of Moscow's invasion, has cast itself as a possible peacemaker between the warring neighbors.

"We were not neutral from day one; we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace," he told Zelensky.

He earlier said that "no problem should be solved on the battlefield."

The Indian leader pledged humanitarian support for Kiev, saying, "Whatever help is required from a humanitarian standpoint, India will always stand with you."

Zelensky called Modi's visit a "historic moment."

But neither side showed signs of a breakthrough, with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar later saying it was "clearly a complex issue" and that India believes Moscow should be involved if peace efforts were to progress.

Later in his evening address to the country, Zelensky said it is "important for us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity," without saying if he received such...