Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised the importance of dialogue to resolve conflicts as he acknowledged the global reaction to his visit to Moscow and meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Modi was on a two-day visit to Moscow at the invitation of Mr Putin to attend the 22nd Russia-India annual summit. The two leaders embraced and shook hands ahead of their meeting at the Russian president's residence near the capital.
It is Mr Modi’s first visit to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the first since he secured power for a third straight term following elections in June.
“While our bilateral summit has been ongoing for the last 25 years and we have met 22 times, this is probably the one meeting where the entire world’s focus is on me and taking out different meanings of this meeting,” Mr Modi told Mr Putin in a video of the meeting.
“Our relationship is one of a particularly privileged strategic partnership,” the Russian president said to his counterpart and guest.
India is a long-time partner of Russia, and New Delhi has sought to continue its relationship with Moscow despite the US and western countries urging nations to sever ties and threatening sanctions in response to trade between the two countries in certain sectors against the backdrop of the continuing war in Ukraine.
India has repeatedly emphasised resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.
“Whether it be war, conflicts, or terror attacks, every person who believes in humanity feels the pain when there are deaths. And even more, when innocent children are murdered, and one sees them dying, it is heart-wrenching,” Mr Modi said.
“I have maintained that for the brighter future of our next generation, peace is pivotal. But I also know that solutions are not possible on the battlefield. Peace talks can’t succeed among bombs, guns, and bullets and we need to find a way to peace through talks.”
Mr Modi’s visit to Moscow – which coincided with a Nato summit in Washington where Ukraine is a key topic – was being keenly watched by his western allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Mr Modi’s meeting with Mr Putin a “devastating blow to peace efforts” and said it was “disappointing” to see Mr Modi embracing his Russian counterpart.
“In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia’s brutal missile strike,” Mr Zelenskyy said on X on Tuesday. “A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble”
“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,” he said.
The US, a key ally of India as well as Ukraine, urged Mr Modi to raise the European nation's sovereignty with Mr Putin.
“We would urge India, as we do any country when it engages with Russia, to make clear that any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine needs to be one that respects the UN charter, that respects Ukraine's territorial integrity, Ukraine's sovereignty,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during a press briefing on Monday.
Earlier on Tuesday, while addressing the Indian diaspora in Moscow, Mr Modi said Russia was India’s “all-weather friend” and that ties between the nations have emerged stronger despite several tests.
“I have been a fan of the unique relationship between Russia and India. Every time one hears the word Russia, every Indian feels it is India’s all-weather friend,” Mr Modi said.
“Our relations have been tested several times and each time, the friendship has emerged stronger … I especially praise my friend Mr Putin for his leadership. He has worked for more than two decades to strengthen this partnership.”
He also announced the opening of two new consulates in Russia.
Mr Modi landed in Moscow on Monday where he was received by Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and accorded a ceremonial military welcome.
He was later invited for a dinner by Mr Putin at his home where the two leaders held an off-the-cuff talk, mostly with the help of interpreters.
Mr Putin drove the Indian Prime Minister in a golf cart across his sprawling estate and showed him his horses at the stables.
Mr Modi asked Mr Putin to release Indian soldiers serving in the Russian military amid the Ukraine war.
At least a dozen Indian men, aged between 22 and 31, were hired by Indian-origin agents in Russia to work as helpers in the Russian army.
But once the men reached Moscow, they were allegedly drafted into the Russian military and forced to fight in Ukraine.
At least two Indians recruited by the Russian army have been killed in the war.
Mr Modi thanked Mr Putin for selling discounted oil to fulfil the energy requirements of the nation of 1.3 billion people.
Russia is an important trade partner for India.
Mr Putin also expressed his satisfaction with the growing trade between his country and India, noting that it increased by 66 per cent last year.
While the South Asian nation exports medicine and other pharmaceutical products, chemicals, iron and steel and coffee, New Delhi has started buying oil from Russia despite heavy western sanctions on Moscow.
India's oil imports increased tenfold in 2022, according to Bank of Baroda, reaching 20 per cent of the country's imported crude. Those imports reached 40 per cent in 2023.
“People across several countries had to face the shortage of petrol and diesel but because of our trade, we could save citizens of India from the issues of shortage and inflation, and I thank you for that,” Mr Modi said.
“The world should accept that the India-Russia agreement regarding fuel played a big role in bringing stability to the international market.”
New Delhi and Moscow are also in talks to build six high-capacity nuclear power units and small-scale nuclear power plants in India.
The two nations are reportedly also in talks over possible routes for energy transfers through the Northern Sea Route – an alternative passage for the Suez Canal.
