Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the time was “not for war” on Friday on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, according to television images.
“Excellence, I know this is not the time for war,” Mr Modi told Mr Putin in Samarkand, at the start of their first face-to-face meeting since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, according to footage carried by Indian public service broadcaster Doordashan.
But Mr Modi nevertheless stressed the importance of “democracy, diplomacy and dialogue”.
The two leaders will discuss “how to move forward on the road to peace”, added the Indian Prime Minister.
Vladimir Putin, for his part, assured that he wanted to end the conflict in Ukraine “as quickly as possible”, while saying that he understood India’s “concerns” on this subject.
“Unfortunately, it’s just that the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, refused any negotiation process, and indicated that they wanted to achieve their goals through military means, on the battlefield,” continued the head of the Kremlin, according to an exchange broadcast on Russian television.
India has refrained from explicitly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has driven up the price of oil and other commodities.
New Delhi calls Moscow a “key pillar” of Indian foreign policy because of its “strategic partnership” for its national security.
India’s former ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran, called Modi’s comments “quite candid” saying the Ukraine crisis “has caught the world’s attention and created problems for the developing world”.
The Indian leader’s remarks came just a day after Mr Putin acknowledged that China, Russia’s main ally, had “concerns” about the conflict in Ukraine.
“It was a pretty strong message to Russia,” he said on the channel. Doordashan. “As a friend, his recommendation and India’s position is that this should be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy. »
The Russian invasion of Ukraine highlighted the difficulty of New Delhi’s balancing act with the West.
India has remained deaf to Washington’s calls to condemn Russia, but is pursuing closer cooperation with the United States, including as a member of the informal “Quad” alliance, alongside Japan and the United States. Australia.
In June, New Delhi nevertheless co-signed a G7 declaration pledging to “respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of other States” and regularly calls on Russia and Ukraine “to return to the negotiating table”.
Mr Putin had visited India late last year, on his second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic, with the aim of strengthening the two countries’ military and energy ties.
New Delhi is the second largest arms importer in the world after Saudi Arabia and, according to the Standard Businessbetween 2016 and 20, 49.4% of its purchases came from Russia.
The South Asian giant of 1.4 billion inhabitants, a major consumer of Russian oil, has considerably increased its purchases since the Western embargo.
By contrast, the South Asian giant has dramatically increased its purchases of Russian oil, with Indian refiners enjoying deep discounts.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba recently accused India, behind its declared neutrality, of thus “taking advantage” of Ukrainian and Western “sacrifices”.