A day after his hug with
Putin
sparked outrage in the West, PM Narendra Modi rapped the Russian president publicly as he told him
peace talks
could not succeed in the shadow of guns, underlining the need for an immediate
ceasefire
in
Ukraine
.
Modi also vented the global community’s anger over a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s largest children hospital on the day he landed in Moscow for his first visit to Russia in five years.
“Any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die… the heart bleeds (hriday chhalni ho jata hai), and I had the opportunity to talk about these issues with you yesterday,” Modi told Putin in the Kremlin, in the presence of reporters, just before official summit talks began.
Ukrainian president Zelensky had called India’s engagement with Putin a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts”.
PM to Putin: Solutions can be found through talks, not war
PM Modi Tuesday made clear India’s stance on the war in Ukraine, and as he raised concerns about the impact of the conflict on Global South, the PM softened his message, saying he had heard Russian prez Putin’s “frank” views on peace, which inspired hope in him.
“As a friend, I’ve always told you that peace is essential for our future generations. But I also know that no solution can be found on battlefield. Solutions and peace talks will not be successful under the shadow of guns, bombs and bullets. We must find a way to peace through dialogue,” Modi told Putin, adding that fresh ideas and a new thinking had emerged from his talks with the Russian president on Monday.
Modi’s remarks followed an unprecedented blowback from Ukraine and US to his embrace of the Russian President. US state department said it had raised concerns with India about Russia-India ties and that it wanted Modi to ask Putin to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
While reiterating all possible support and contribution for any peace effort, Modi said he wanted to assure both Russia and the world that India was in favour of peace.
Modi’s comments about children are of particular significance as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had used the attack on the hospital – Russia has denied any role in it – to attack the Indian PM. Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra later said Modi was “categorical” in expressing concern at the loss of lives in the attacks Monday, particularly of children.
According to Indian govt sources, Modi’s overriding message to Putin was that there couldn’t be a solution on battlefield, much like his “this isn’t the era of war” remark before Russian president in Samarkand in 2022.
In his remarks, Putin said he appreciated Modi’s efforts to find ways to resolve the crisis through peaceful means. Modi’s emphasis on peace talks sans violence is also important as it doubles down on the international community’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. India remains the only major country, apart from China, to not have condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
That Modi was looking to soothe frayed nerves in the West was obvious when he said the world was focused on the meet and was drawing meanings from it. The PM’s remarks before Putin seemed aimed at correcting the imbalance, as perceived by the West, in India’s position following its decision to skip ministerial-level participation in Swiss peace summit and its refusal to endorse a declaration underlining Ukraine’s territorial integrity as basis for any peace process.
Even while discussing cooperation under the game-changing initiative on critical and emerging technology, the US has made it clear to India there should not be any leakage of sensitive and dual-use technology to Russia.
