Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to allay concern in the West about his visit to Russia and meetings with President Vladimir Putin, claiming that the detailed and open discussion between the two had set the stage for new thinking to emerge.
Modi did not elaborate on this “new thinking” but appeared to be trying to impress upon western capitals that his supping with Putin was not tantamount to picking Russia’s side in its war with Ukraine.
With Putin sitting opposite him, Modi — in his statement to the media — spoke about how heart-rending it is to hear about children being killed, in an apparent reference to the Russian bombing of a children’s hospital in Ukraine on Monday.
Just ahead of Modi’s formal bilateral engagement with Putin on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had posted a scathing remark against such a session.
“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelensky posted on X after detailing the bombing of the children’s hospital in Kyiv.
This was Modi’s second meeting with Putin in two days, the first being late on Monday night at the Russian President’s dacha where the two leaders spent about six hours over a private dinner, walked and drove around the property.
Apart from voicing concern over the loss of innocent lives, Modi said the solution to any conflict cannot be found on the battlefield. “Peace talks will not succeed in the midst of bombardment and shelling. Peace is possible only through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.
Conscious that his visit was being watched closely in world capitals, the Prime Minister said: “The entire world’s attention is centred on my visit and they are coming out with various interpretations of this meeting. I am happy to have had a detailed and open discussion on Ukraine and that we heard each other with respect…. I am satisfied that you (Putin) spoke with such an open mind… and I noticed several new ideas crop up… and a new thinking has emerged. I assure the world that India is for peace, and I have a new hope after speaking to you yesterday.”
Billing this a “highly successful annual summit”, foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra sidestepped specific questions related to Ukraine, including Zelensky’s remarks, and insisted on repeating what the Prime Minister had said in public, maintaining that this was the sum and substance of Modi’s position on Ukraine.
On Monday, US state department spokesman Mike Miller had said Washington has communicated to New Delhi its concerns about the India-Russia relationship that has remained steadfast despite western pressure on India to draw away from Moscow since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022.
“We made quite clear directly with India our concerns about their relationship with Russia. And so we would hope India and any other country, when they engage with Russia, would make clear that Russia should respect the UN Charter, should respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Miller said in response to a question on Modi’s visit ahead of the Nato summit in Washington and also when Russia has stepped up its offensive on Ukraine.
Though India did not officially respond to Miller’s remarks, sources pointed out that India has always called for respecting the UN Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Ukraine apart, Russia has assured India of facilitating early discharge of all Indians who have joined the Russian army, Kwatra said.
On whether there was a timeline for this, he said the two systems would have to work it out while clarifying that India had asked for the discharge of all Indians who had joined the Russian army and not just the ones who wanted to return.
Though there is no clarity on the exact number of Indians in the Russian army, the Indian assessment is 35-50, of whom 10 have returned.
