The Russia-Ukraine conflict should be resolved in a peaceful manner and India is ready to provide all possible cooperation towards it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Modi held bilateral talks with Putin hours after arriving in this central Russian city to attend the 16th BRICS summit.
In his televised opening remarks, the prime minister conveyed to the Russian leader that New Delhi "fully supports" the early return of peace and stability in the region. Modi also said that his second visit to Russia in the last three months reflected "close" coordination and "deep trust" between the two countries.
"We are constantly in touch on the issue of ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As I said earlier, we believe that problems should be resolved in a peaceful manner," the prime minister said. "We fully support the early return of peace and stability. All our efforts give priority to humanity. India is ready to provide all possible cooperation in times to come," he said. "We can sit down and talk about all these matters," he added. He mentioned the "good condition" of trade turnover between Russia and India. Modi also noted summit talks with Russian leader Putin in Moscow last July. "Our annual summit resulted in strengthening cooperation in every field," he said. The prime minister also congratulated Putin on Russia's successful presidency of BRICS. "Many countries want to join the grouping now," he added.
"It is a matter of great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to visit such a beautiful city like Kazan for the BRICS summit. India has deep and historical ties with this city," Modi said. "The opening of India's new consulate in Kazan will further strengthen these ties," he added.
It is learnt that the Ukraine conflict figured prominently at the meeting.
In the summit talks on July 9 in Moscow, Modi told Putin that it was not possible to solve the Ukraine conflict on the battlefield and peace efforts don't win amidst bombs and bullets. Weeks later, he travelled to Ukraine. In his meetings with Zelenskyy, Modi told that both Ukraine and Russia need to sit together without a waste of time so as to end the prevailing war and that India is ready to "play an active role" to restore peace in the region. India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
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