UK seeks broadest possible coalition against Putin, including India

London, Mar 2: The UK on Wednesday called for the "broadest possible coalition" against Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine, which includes India. Boris Johnson's spokesperson at 10 Downing Street told PTI that a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be expected in the coming days, as the British Prime Minister reaches out to world leaders to seek "universal condemnation" of Putin's attacks on Ukrainian cities.

"We want to secure the broadest possible coalition against the actions that Putin is taking," the spokesperson said, in response to a question about the UK's message for India over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

"The Prime Minister has been speaking to a lot of world leaders to that end... We expect him to be doing a lot of leaders calls in the coming days. We haven't locked down timings for each of those," the spokesperson said.

Referring to a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's actions to be voted upon by all member countries later on Wednesday, the UK PM's spokesperson said Britain's aim was that all countries unite in sending the clearest possible message to the Russian President.

"We would hope and expect that all countries could agree that invading a democratically elected country, with no provocation, bombing innocent men, women and children is something to be abhorred and condemned. We will continue to petition everyone to that end," the spokesperson said.

The draft of the UN General Assembly resolution demands that the Russian Federation "immediately, completely, and unconditionally" withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

While such resolutions are non-binding, they are used to mount political pressure on countries. At a similar UN Security Council resolution vote vetoed by Russia last week, India had abstained and called for a return to the "path of diplomacy" and cessation of violence. Meanwhile, Downing Street confirmed that the timetable for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) talks - scheduled for a second round of negotiations between officials from both sides next week - remains on track. PTI