Finance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of SCO Summit on Monday and said that the close cooperation of both nations is important for the peace, prosperity and stability in the world.
Both leaders shared opinions on matters of regional and international significance and talked about how to improve ties between the two countries.
The prime minister also praised recent attempts to end the situation in Ukraine and stated that more “constructive” action must be taken by all parties concerned.
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, and I always request that every meeting with you becomes a memorable one. It provides an opportunity to exchange a lot of information. We remain in constant contact and have held several bilateral meetings,” PM Modi said in his opening remarks during the meeting.
Putin is also scheduled to visit India in December.
The Prime Minister said that the 1.40 crore Indians are “eagerly waiting” for the Russian President’s arrival for the 23rd India-Russia Summit in December.
“This is the definition of our deep, ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’,” PM Modi said.
“India and Russia have always walked shoulder-to-shoulder with each other in the most difficult times also,” he said, highlighting the two countries’ strong bilateral ties. Our tight collaboration is crucial for global peace, prosperity, and stability in addition to the citizens of both nations.
Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Modi stated that India applauds all recent attempts to find a solution.
“We hope that all the involved parties will proceed further constructively. We will have to figure out ways to end the conflict as soon as possible to restore the regional stability and peace. This is the call of the entire humanity,” PM Modi added.
Earlier, both the leaders boarded the same car to the venue of the bilateral meeting.
In his opening remarks at the SCO Summit, Putin said that he highly valued the contributions of India and other strategic partners in facilitating a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
“We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and our other strategic partners, aimed at facilitating the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
The Russian President also mentioned that “understandings” he reached with US President Donald Trump at a summit in August opened up path to peace in Ukraine.
“The understandings reached at the recent Russian-American summit in Alaska, I hope, are also moving in this direction, opening the way to peace in Ukraine,” Putin said, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
Earlier in the day, on the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi posted a photo with Russian President Putin, where the two leaders were seen shaking hands and hugging.
Sharing the picture on X, PM Modi wrote, “Always a delight to meet President Putin!”
India’s stance for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and New Delhi’s support for all initiatives in this direction have been repeatedly reaffirmed by Prime Minister Modi.
Significantly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Prime Minister Modi shortly after his arrival in China from Japan on Saturday to apprise him of the European leaders’ meetings with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
India is prepared to make the required efforts and “convey the appropriate signal to Russia” and other leaders during meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit, Zelensky added, during the “productive, important conversation”.
Source: IANS
