Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to “move away from endless war” and find a resolution to his ongoing invasion of Ukraine during a meeting on Monday.
The two — along with the heads of state of several other neighboring countries, most prominently China and Iran — are in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to attend a high-level summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The China-led, Central Asia-based SCO is a loosely affiliated security and common interests group, sometimes described as an attempted counterweight to NATO but lacking the strict membership requirements and mutual defense responsibilities of that group. Modi, Putin, and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping are all expected to meet Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss that country’s war with the United States during the span of the SCO summit, but appear to have prioritized meeting with each other.
Both Indian and Russian media emphasized that Modi used his time with Putin to discourage him from continuing the Ukraine invasion. The comments were notably more pointed than past remarks by the Hindu nationalist leader, who has rejected attempts to sanction or otherwise economically isolate Russia in response to it belligerence and remains a key Russian oil partner.
“Every day spent in war sets humanity back, whereas every step taken towards peace fills humanity with new hope and enthusiasm. We must move away from endless war towards an end to the war. This is essential for the well-being of humanity,” Modi told Putin, according to India’s Economic Times.
“We have consistently discussed the issue of Ukraine. When we met previously, you briefed me in detail on all aspects of the matter. As you know, India supports all efforts towards peace and will continue to do so,” his comments continued.
Modi separately published an image on social media of his meeting with Putin in which he only vaguely suggested conversation linked to Ukraine and emphasized the bilateral relationship with India.
“Discussed the full range of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. It is gladdening to see significant progress across various sectors in recent years,” he wrote. “Focus areas for the India-Russia friendship remain energy, innovation, space, fertilisers and people-to-people linkages.”
Neither Indian nor Russian media offered much insight into Putin’s response to this plea. The Russian news agency Tass shared that Putin responded, “we are moving along in this path,” apparently meaning that he believes there has been progress towards peace with Ukraine. The report did not elaborate, however, emphasizing instead Putin describing trade with India favorably and thanking Modi for personally prioritizing good relations with Russia.
“I would also like to note with satisfaction that Russian-Indian relations continue to strengthen on the principles of a specially privileged strategic partnership,” Putin reportedly said. “This is facilitated by your personal attention to the development of Russian-Indian relations and the fact that we have not only business relations but also very warm, personal, and friendly ties.”
Separately, Putin’s top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin “has informed Modi” on updates regarding the Ukraine invasion, but Tass did not indicate that Peskov gave any more information.
Modi’s message appeared to generate attention in Ukraine, where state-affiliated media reproduced the moment that Modi encouraged an end to the invasion in the meeting.
India and Russia have longstanding friendly relations stemming back decades into the Soviet era. India has long depended on Russia for defense technology and diplomatic support. Since the Ukraine invasion began, however, Modi has deliberately expanded purchases of Russian oil as prices fell in response to Western sanctions. Oil purchases, in addition to diplomatic controversies, have significantly damaged Ukrainian-Indian relations throughout the invasion, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently indicated he was hoping to improve his relationship with India.
In a meeting with Ukrainian diplomats last week, Zelensky reportedly identified India and China specifically as countries that he hoped to improve engagement with.
“Zelensky urged Ukrainian diplomats to find new ways to strengthen relations with both India and China,” the state-run news network Ukrinform reported. “He said that Ukraine had to find a practical way to strengthen its relations with India and seek dialogue with China. He added that if Ukraine did not want China to support only Russia, it would have to build those relationships despite the significant challenges involved.”
While Modi and Putin were meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Zelensky hosted a diplomatic team from the United States, led by Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Zelensky described his conversations with the pair as “detained and constructive” and suggested Trump himself may soon visit Ukraine.
“Importantly, the dialogue between negotiating teams of the U.S. and Ukraine continues all the time, and now we are talking about locking in the dates for the visit to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a message on social media. “Such a trip would be highly beneficial for hammering out solutions for peace.”
“Steve and Jared know many details. Our teams will be in close touch to work out the agenda and the most suitable schedule for further communication. I thank President Trump @POTUS, Steve and Jared, and everyone in the United States who works to make peace our joint achievement,” he concluded.
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