Moscow, July 9, 2024 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told President Vladimir Putin that "war cannot solve problems" and urged peace on a trip to Moscow over two years into the Ukraine offensive.
On his first visit since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, Modi said he and Putin had chatted on a range of issues, adding: "I was happy that on Ukraine, we could both express our views openly and in detail." "When innocent children are murdered, one sees them die, the heart pains and that pain is unbearable," Modi told Putin. "I know that war cannot solve problems, solutions and peace talks can't succeed among bombs, guns, and bullets," the Indian leader added. "And we need to find a way to peace through dialogue."
Putin thanked Modi for "the attention you pay to the most urgent problems" and said "you are trying to find some ways to solve the Ukrainian crisis, too, of course primarily by peaceful means".
Modi landed in Moscow on Monday hours after Russia launched a massive barrage across Ukraine that killed at least 38 people and heavily damaged a children's hospital in Kyiv, sparking condemnation from governments in Europe and North America.
On Monday evening Modi was pictured with Putin at the Russian president's country residence, where the leaders spent several hours together, according to the Kremlin.
At the Kremlin, Putin hailed India and Russia's "very long-standing friendship" and said they now enjoy a "specially privileged, strategic partnership".
Russia is a vital supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, but Moscow's isolation from the West and growing ties with Beijing have impacted its partnership with New Delhi.
Modi is courting closer Western security ties after being returned to power last month as leader of the world's most populous country.
The United States on Monday urged Modi to make clear in his talks with Putin that "any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine must... be one that respects the UN Charter with respect to Ukraine's territorial integrity". Modi last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in the Indian capital two years later.
New Delhi said in February it was pushing Moscow to return several of its citizens who had signed up for "support jobs" with the Russian military, following reports some had been killed after being forced to fight in Ukraine. New Delhi and Russia have maintained close links since the Cold War, which saw the Kremlin become a key arms provider to the country. — AFP
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