Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly supported the latest efforts to end the ongoing war in Ukraine and conveyed to visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin that India will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in all peace efforts to find an amicable solution to the nearly four-year-long conflict.
The Ukraine issue figured prominently at the 23rdrd India-Russia Annual Summit talks between the two leaders, which is aimed to bolster a nearly eight-decade-long bilateral partnership that remained on firm-footing notwithstanding fractious geopolitical environment and tensions, the media reported.
In his televised opening remarks at the summit, PM Modi said India is not neutral as it is on the side of peace to end the Ukraine conflict.
“We have been holding discussions following the start of the Ukraine conflict. As a close friend, you have been regularly apprising us on the situation. I think trust is a major strength,” he said.
“We all should find the path of peace. I am aware of the latest efforts and I am confident that the world will turn to peace,” PM Modi said.
“I have always said that India is not neutral. India has a side and that side is peace. We support all peace efforts and we are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in all peace efforts,” he said.
On his part, President Putin said Moscow is working towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The Russian leader was accorded a red-carpet welcome on Thursday evening on his first visit to India in four years. It is also his first trip to India since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
PM Modi personally received the Russian leader with a hug at the Palam Airport on Thursday before they traveled together in a white SUV to the PM’s official residence for a private dinner.
While details are awaited, the conversation between the two leaders over dinner may have set the tone for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit talks that is expected to produce a number of tangible outcomes to further broad-base the time-tested relationship.
Boosting defense ties, insulating India-Russia bilateral trade from external pressure and exploring cooperation in small modular nuclear reactors are expected to be the focus of the summit.
The Russian leader’s two-day official visit to New Delhi assumed greater significance as it is taking place against the backdrop of recent downturn in India-US relations.
Following the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides are expected to ink several agreements, including one on facilitating the movement of Indian workers to Russia, and another on logistical support under a broader framework of defense cooperation.
Under the trade basket, Indian exports to Russia are expected to significantly increase in areas of pharma, agriculture, food products and consumer goods.
The move comes amid concerns in New Delhi over a ballooning trade deficit in favor of Russia. India’s annual procurement of goods and services from Russia amounts to around USD 65 billion, while Russia’s imports from India stand at only around USD 5 billion.
Officials said India is also looking at boosting cooperation in the fertilizer sector. Russia supplies three to four million tonnes of fertilizers to India annually. The Indian and Russian sides are also likely to discuss New Delhi’s proposed free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.
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