Modi urges early resolution of Ukraine conflict in call with Putin

MOSCOW/NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he backed an early, peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, days after he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv.

Modi’s visit last week, the first by an Indian prime minister in Ukraine’s modern history, came at a volatile point in the war that started when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.

Despite Western pressure to distance itself from Russia, India has maintained its ties with Moscow, which has been an important supplier of weapons to India since the days of the Soviet Union.

Modi said he spoke to Putin by phone and discussed ways to strengthen the partnership between their two countries. The Kremlin gave no details except for saying they spoke by phone.

“Reiterated India’s firm commitment to support an early, abiding and peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Modi said in a post on X, describing the conversation.

Modi shared “insights” from his visit to Ukraine with Putin and “underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy as well as sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders” to find peace, the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Modi’s Ukraine visit followed his trip to Russia in July, during which he embraced Putin on the same day that a deadly Russian missile strike hit a children’s hospital.

That visit angered Ukraine and the US State Department said it had raised concerns with India about ties with Russia.