Should move from endless war to end of war, PM Modi tells Russian Prez Putin

Modi's Message to PutinRussia should move from “endless war towards the end of war”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin on Monday, nudging the Russian leader yet again to end the more than four-year-old conflict that has had an adverse impact on the global community.Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace each other during their meeting on the sidelines of the SCO in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday. (Pyotr Kovalev/Pool Sputnik Kreml)Modi made the remarks when he met Putin on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, their first in-person engagement since the annual India-Russia Summit in New Delhi last December. India hasn’t publicly criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has backed dialogue and diplomacy to find a resolution.Following their meeting, Modi and Putin travelled together in the Russian President’s limousine to the venue of the inaugural ceremony of the World Nomad Games, just as they had done after a meeting on the margins of the SCO Summit in Tianjin last year. Footage beamed on television showed them jointly entering the venue.The two leaders met against the backdrop of increased tensions over Russian and Ukrainian attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea that have killed at least five Indian seafarers. The impact of the attacks in the Black Sea on maritime trade and the safety of Indian seafarers figured in the discussions, the external affairs ministry said.“Every day spent perpetuating war pushes humanity backwards, and every step taken towards peace fills the whole of humanity with new hope and enthusiasm. We must move from endless war towards the end of war, which is very necessary for the well-being of humanity,” Modi said in televised opening remarks at the meeting with Putin.“A peaceful resolution of all issues as soon as possible is the call of humanity, and this is also India’s message. The land of Gandhi and Buddha has one message — the path of peace,” he said, speaking in Hindi.Modi noted that he and Putin had always discussed the Ukraine issue at all their meetings, and India “supports all efforts for peace and will continue to do so in future”.The remarks were largely in line with those made by Modi in past engagements with Putin — at their meeting following the start of the Ukraine conflict in Samarkand in September 2022, Modi had said that “today’s era is not of war”, while at a meeting in Moscow in July 2024, Modi had pointed out that “no solution to any conflict is possible on the battlefield”.Modi and Putin are set to meet again within less than a fortnight when the Russian leader travels to New Delhi to participate in the Brics Summit to be held during September 12-13. Modi referred to Putin as “my friend” and said all Indians were eager to welcome him and his delegation as the visit will “strengthen bilateral relations and empower discussions and cooperation within Brics”.The two leaders also reviewed various aspects of bilateral relations, including cooperation in trade, investment, and energy and fertiliser security. Modi referred to Putin’s visit to India for the annual bilateral summit last December and said the meeting had taken economic cooperation to new heights.“It is a matter of great satisfaction that our cooperation is continuously moving towards new heights and we are working together for the benefit of the people of both countries,” Modi said. “Moving forward while keeping national interests above all else is what we both believe in and this will be our root formula in the future too.”Putin said Russia-India relations have become stronger because of the bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership. “This is undoubtedly facilitated by your personal attention to the development of the Russia-India relations, as well as by the close personal friendship that has developed between us,” he said.Putin also noted that bilateral trade turnover increased by 2.6% in the first half of 2026 after a slight decline last year. India is “among the leaders” in terms of foreign students in Russia, as the number of Indian students increased seven-fold over the past decade and now stands at almost 40,000, he said.The discussions between the two leaders covered key areas of cooperation such as defence, energy, mobility of workers, innovation, space, fertilisers and people-to-people contacts. They also discussed regional and global issues, including the “conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers”, the external affairs ministry said.Modi and Putin agreed to strengthen the bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership, which has registered significant growth and “shown resilience in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties”.Foreign secretary Vikram Misri acknowledged at a media briefing after the meeting that the growing imbalance in two-way trade and the need to expand Indian exports to Russia had figured in the discussions. He pointed out that Modi had shared a paper with Putin at last year’s annual summit that detailed market access-related issues faced by Indian products and non-tariff barriers.“I am glad to report that, with the cooperation of our Russian friends, we’ve had significant progress on that front and market access has improved significantly in several areas of interest, including meat exports, marine products exports, dairy exports as well,” Misri said.Both sides will work to increase access to Russian markets and diversify the trade basket to address the growing trade deficit, he said.Misri responded to a question on the problem of Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian Army to fight in the war in Ukraine by saying that the Indian embassy in Moscow is monitoring the situation to ensure the release and repatriation of these citizens.He noted that a total of 227 Indians had so far been recruited into the Russian military and 139 were discharged while 51 had died. “We are in discussions with the Russian side to ensure that any cases that remain are discharged at the earliest so that we can return these people to their families,” he said.