Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertilizer and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present.
“I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this,” Modi said on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan, adding that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue kept the world together.
Putin replied that he understood New Delhi’s concerns about the conflict in Ukraine and wanted it to end “as soon as possible”, according to a readout of a bilateral meeting published by the Kremlin.
“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express,” he told Modi on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
“We will do everything to stop this as soon as possible. Only, unfortunately, the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, announced its rejection of the negotiation process and stated that it wants to achieve its goals by military means.”
Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine after sending its armed forces into its neighbor’s territory from several directions in February.