French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain said India shares a good relationship with Russia and it "must bring Moscow to the discussion table".
Talking about India's stand on voting in UNGA, Lenain said, "India is a strong country. India has strategic autonomy. We respect India to make its own decision according to its interests and principles so nobody should say what India should do. That is first. Support from India will be very welcomed because India's voice matters."
Lenain, replying to the question on India's humanitarian aid said, "I am sure Indian authorities are first trying to protect their citizens. For any government, this is the first priority. We hope once this issue is solved India's concern will expand to all the civilians in Ukraine also. Indian authorities told Russia to call on ceasefire and talks."
India and 34 other countries on Wednesday abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution that censured Russia over its military actions against Ukraine. India had earlier abstained from the UN Security Council procedural vote to call for a General Assembly session on the Ukraine crisis.
"Door is not closed and we have adopted united EU position on sanctions. We expect as much support as we can to the next step which is the resolution of the humanitarian assistance. It is going to be very important. This is not a fight, the war between two countries, or East and West. It is a fight for principles and countries from Asia, Singapore adopted sanctions. Most of the world is appalled by this aggression. I am sure you have seen the result of the resolution that was voted yesterday, 141 voted against Russia and it is an unusually strong message," he added.
India along with China and UAE had last week abstained from a US-sponsored resolution against Russia's military actions in Ukraine. Moscow used its veto against the resolution.
Ambassador said that the primary call is on the cessation of hostility so that the population can be protected and we can stop the 'bloodshed'. "This is wake up call. The world is becoming more and more dangerous," he added.
Speaking on the defence positions of countries he stated, "Countries in Europe are raising their defence budget, Germany have also raised their defence budget recently. India is also diversifying its weapons procurement and producing more weapons in India, on both counts you know you can rely on friends."
( With inputs from ANI )
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