Ukraine has invited Bangladesh to join it in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula that Moscow, a close friend of Dhaka, rejects.
President Volodymyr Zelensky met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the first time on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.
He also invited Bangladesh to take part in the inaugural Global Peace Summit.
Sheikh Hasina, however, called upon all to find ways to stop wars as Bangladesh pursues a foreign policy of friendship to all and malice towards none.
According to Zelensky’s office, he “thanked the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, particularly within the UN, and emphasized the importance of Bangladesh's support for Ukrainian initiatives.”
“Volodymyr Zelensky told the Prime Minister about Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression, the situation on the battlefield and the Ukrainian vision of a just peace based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
“The President invited the People's Republic of Bangladesh to join the implementation of the Formula and take part in the inaugural Global Peace Summit,” read a statement from the Ukraine president’s office.
Zelensky informed the prime minister about “Ukraine's efforts to create an alternative grain corridor in the Black Sea and prevent Russia's attempts to undermine peaceful navigation in the Black Sea region.”
“The president of Ukraine and the prime minister of Bangladesh also discussed the prospects of establishing cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, in particular, the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to this country.”
Before the meeting, however, there had been speculations about the impact of Dhaka and Moscow relations.
Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Alexander Mantytskiy said on Monday that he hoped that the meeting would not have any impact on relations with Bangladesh.
“We hope that Bangladesh-Russia relations will improve,” he had said, asserting Russia’s rejection of the Ukraine Peace Formula.
Russia had consistently criticized the Zelensky formula for its “shortcomings, hypocrisy and lack of connection to reality,” he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister during the meeting with Zelensky called for finding a way to end the war.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always says we are against all kinds of war. Today, she also discussed how the war can be stopped," Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud later said.
He said the two leaders also discussed how the attacks on innocent men and women in Gaza can be stopped.
The prime minister reminded all that war cannot bring any wellbeing for anyone.
"The war cannot bring any welfare for the countries involved and their people who get affected … others can be benefitted from the war,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.
In this connection, she also recalled her bitter memories of the sufferings Bangladesh’s people and she herself endured during the country’s War of Liberation in 1971.
She narrated her own inhuman suffering and the birth of her only son Sajeeb Wazed Joy under the captivity of the Pakistani occupation forces during the War.
Bangladesh's foreign policy of keeping good relations with all figured prominently during the meeting, the foreign minister said.
Replying to a question, the foreign minister once again said that despite the meeting, relations with Russia will not at all be hampered.
"Our relationship with Russia is very warm. Russia stood beside us during the Liberation War and played a pivotal role in rebuilding Bangladesh after the war," he recalled.
The prime minister left Dhaka on February 15 on a three-day official visit to join the Munich Security Conference. She will return home on Monday.
This is her first official tour abroad since assuming office for a fourth consecutive term following the January 7 general elections.
