On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Modi emphasized that dialogue and diplomacy are essential for progress. The two leaders also discussed advancements in their economic, defense, and energy cooperation, as well as the mobility of workers between their countries.
Modi and Putin met for the second time in less than a fortnight on the margins of the Brics Summit in New Delhi – they last held talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek on August 31 – and reviewed bilateral ties and exchanged notes on global and regional issues. People familiar with the matter said the trade target of $100 billion, including enhanced cooperation in key areas such as railways and the steel value chain and bolstering access to the Russian market, figured in the discussions.
The PM “again reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy was the way forward in resolving conflicts and India stood ready to assist in peace efforts”, the external affairs ministry said in a readout on the meeting held at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the Brics Summit. Among the regional and global issues that figured in their talks were the “conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers”, the readout said. Track live updates of BRICS summit here During his last meeting with Putin in Bishkek, Modi had said in the context of the Ukraine conflict that “endless war must give way to the end of war”. In the context of bilateral ties, the two leaders reviewed progress in political, economic, defence, energy and space cooperation, the mobility of skills and people-to-people contacts, the readout said.
This was largely in line with the PM’s earlier assertions to Putin that this is not the era of war and solutions cannot be found on the battlefield.
