Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing his assessment of last week’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska.
PM Modi reaffirmed India’s consistent position advocating a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and expressed support for all related efforts.
“Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska. India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come,” PM Modi posted on X following the conversation.
The two leaders also discussed multiple bilateral cooperation issues, aiming to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia, and agreed to maintain close contact.
India welcomed the Summit in Alaska between US President Trump and President Putin, describing their leadership in pursuit of peace as “highly commendable.” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said:
“India welcomes the Summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable. India appreciates the progress made in the Summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.”
The Alaska talks, held at the Arctic Warrior Convention Centre, involved Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. While the leaders noted progress after three hours of discussions, they did not announce an immediate ceasefire. Trump told Fox News, “It's not a done deal at all. And Ukraine has to agree. President \[Volodymyr] Zelensky has to agree.”
This follows an earlier call on August 8, when Putin briefed PM Modi on developments and upcoming discussions. According to a Kremlin statement, “In light of the special privileged partnership between Russia and India, Vladimir Putin shared the key outcomes of his meeting with US President's Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, held on August 6 in Moscow. The Prime Minister thanked the President of Russia for the information and confirmed India's unwavering stance in favour of settling the situation surrounding Ukraine via political and diplomatic means. In addition, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi exchanged views on key bilateral issues, including cooperation in trade, economy, and investment.”
Looking ahead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Moscow on August 21 during the 26th meeting of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ministers will discuss “pressing bilateral issues and urgent matters concerning interaction on international venues.”
With IANS inputs