As the optics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow and his embrace of Russian President Putin on July 8 raised eyebrows in Washington and Kyiv, India rejected concerns about its ties with Russia. PM Modi raised the Ukraine conflict ahead of the annual summit at the Kremlin.
“I believe there is no peace on the battlefield and solutions to the war can only be found through dialogue,” Mr. Modi said to Mr. Putin at the beginning of their formal talks on July 9, adding that India feels the “pain” and has suffered from terrorism.
“Whether it is terrorism or conflict, the loss of lives especially of innocent children is heartbreaking. President Putin and I have spoken frankly and I want to tell the international community that is closely watching our meeting that I am filled with hope from his words and thinking,” he added.
Awarding Mr. Modi with the Russian Order of St. Andrew, Mr. Putin said that he “appreciated” Mr. Modi’s attention to the “most pressing issues” including his efforts to “find ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis through peaceful means”.
Also read: Modi in Russia LIVE updates
In particular, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the timing of the meeting, on a day Ukraine claimed Russia fired more than 40 missiles at various locations including a children’s hospital, killing 37. The Modi-Putin meeting and the India-Russia Annual summit at the Kremlin are being held even as NATO leaders and other western allies gather in Washington along with Mr. Zelenksyy July 9-11.
In a post on social media platforms that showed photographs of the aftermath of the missile strikes, including on Ukraine’s “largest children’s hospital” and young cancer patients, Mr. Zelenskyy said that the meeting was disappointing.
“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy [India] hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, in a reference to Mr. Putin.
Mr. Zelenskyy had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a month ago on the side-lines of the G-7 Outreach in Italy, seeking support for the peace process. At the summit in Switzerland that followed, however, India sent an official delegation, but disavowed the outcome statement, holding that both the main parties to the war, Russia and Ukraine should be at the table for a successful resolution of the war.
Mr. Modi’s visit to Moscow in the face of the open opposition from Western partners, which is his first since the Ukraine war began in 2022, and could indicate a decided shift by New Delhi to work more closely and publicly with Russia, with no visible end to the conflict in sight. Videos released of the private event on July 8 hosted by President Putin for Mr. Modi, the two leaders were seen riding together in a golfcart, touring the estate in the Moscow suburb of Novo-Ogaryovo, feeding horses and spending the evening together.
Addressing the Indian community on July 9 morning, Mr. Modi praised President Putin for “his leadership of Russia over two decades and for his efforts to strengthen the India-Russia partnership”.
In Washington, where President Joseph Biden is hosting NATO leaders and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a special summit on Tuesday, the State Department spokesperson said that the US has consistently raised its “concerns” about India’s relationship with Russia. To a number of questions about Mr. Modi’s ongoing visit, spokesperson Mathew Miller said that the US “urges” India to make it clear that the resolution to the Ukraine conflict must respect the UN Charter, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue, and that includes on our concerns about the relationship with Russia,” Mr. Miller said, adding that the U.S. has for “long made clear those concerns.”
Government officials said that “India has always called for respecting the U.N. charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty,” at U.N. platforms, although Mr. Modi did not refer to these in his public statements in Moscow.
In an interview to The Hindu last week, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti said that the U.S. has had “continuous communication” with Indian counterparts about what they can do together to “hold Russia to account and impose consequences for its war of conquest”, adding in another interaction that Indian companies attempting to subvert or violate western sanctions would face the “consequences”. The MEA did not respond to requests for a comment on Mr. Garcetti’s comments.
Published - July 09, 2024 01:49 pm IST
