AFU servicemen. File photoNEW DELHI, Apr 12 The Foreign and Defense Ministers of India and the United States called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, according to a joint statement following the fourth meeting in the 2+2 format. «Ministers reviewed mutual efforts to respond to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications They called for an immediate cessation of hostilities The ministers unequivocally condemned the loss of civilian lives They stressed that the modern world order is built on the UN Charter, respect for international law, sovereignty and territorial the integrity of all states,» the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The meeting in the 2+2 format was held in Washington the day before. It was attended by Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, along with their American counterparts, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
