Bishkek: Calling for an immediate end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to move from “endless war towards end of war”, asserting that a peaceful resolution of the conflict is humanity’s shared priority.
In a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in this capital city of Kyrgyzstan, Modi said every day of war sets the humanity back and that India, the land of Gandhi and Buddha, supports all efforts towards peace and will continue to do so.
The two leaders also extensively deliberated on ongoing cooperation in areas of trade and investment and energy and fertiliser security among others.
“We have always discussed the Ukraine issue. When we last met, you had extensively briefed me on all aspects of it. India supports all efforts for peace and will continue to do so,” Modi said in his televised opening remarks at the meeting.
“Every day spent on war pushes humanity backwards, whereas every step taken towards peace fills humanity with new hope and enthusiasm. We must move from endless war towards the end of war, which is very crucial for the well-being of humanity,” the prime minister said in Hindi.
“A peaceful resolution of all issues as soon as possible is the call of humanity, and this is also India’s message. The land of Gandhi and Buddha has a single message: the path of peace,” he said.
Modi and Putin travelled together in the Russian President’s limousine to Nomad Games.
Television footage showed them jointly entering the venue for the inauguration ceremony of the games. The two leaders had travelled in the same car in the Chinese city of Tianjin during the SCO summit last year too.
The talks between the two leaders came over a week before Putin travels to India to attend the annual BRICS summit.
The prime minister also made a mention of the Russian President’s visit to New Delhi last year.
“Your visit to India last year was highly successful and truly memorable. It is a matter of deep satisfaction for us that our cooperation continues to scale new heights and that we are working together for the welfare of the people of both nations,” Modi said.
“Focusing on national interest as the paramount priority has been our shared approach, and this will remain our guiding principle in the future as well.”
Putin, on his part, said Russia-India relations have witnessed an upswing on the basis of the special and privileged partnership.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Modi and Putin reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation in a range of fields, including political, economic, defence, energy, space, mobility and people-to-people ties.
The two leaders welcomed the outcome of the 27th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Cultural matters, held on August 24 in Moscow, it said.
Modi and Putin exchanged views on India-Russia engagement in the multilateral arena, in particular in BRICS and also shared perspectives on key regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers, the MEA said.
The prime minister reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy were the way forward in resolving conflicts, it said.
“The two leaders agreed to remain engaged to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which continues to register significant growth and has shown resilience in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties,” it said.
“The prime minister stated that he looks forward to welcoming President Putin in India for the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13,” it added.
At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the Russian leader also spoke about diversifying the trade basket and increasing the possibilities of exports from India to Russia.
The foreign secretary also responded to a question on the issue of several Indians serving in the Russian military.
“The issue of our nationals being recruited into the Russian armed forces has been discussed between India and Russia at various levels on various occasions,” he said.
“Our embassy in Moscow is monitoring this situation regularly with regard to the release and repatriation of these Indian citizens. We are in discussions with the Russian side to ensure that any cases that remain are discharged at the earliest,” he added.
“At last count, we had information about 227 Indian nationals who had been recruited into the Russian army. And out of that number, we have information that 139 of our nationals have been discharged from the army. Unfortunately, we also have information about 51 people who have perished so far,” he said.
“This remains an issue on which we are in constant discussions with the Russian side.”