As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit where he will be meeting, among other leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to Modi and said “the end of this (Ukraine) war must begin with an immediate ceasefire” and “India is ready to make the necessary efforts and to deliver the appropriate signal to Russia and other leaders” at the summit.
Modi, in a post on X, thanked Zelenskyy for the phone call. “We exchanged views on the ongoing conflict, its humanitarian aspect, and efforts to restore peace and stability. India extends full support to all efforts in this direction,” he said.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “Prime Minister (Modi) thanked President Zelenskyy and reaffirmed India’s steadfast and consistent position for peaceful settlement of the conflict and support for efforts aimed at earliest restoration of peace.”
President Zelenskyy shared his perspective on the recent developments related to Ukraine, said the statement, in the wake of Putin and US President Donald Trump’s August 15 meeting in Alaska, and the subsequent meeting of Trump with Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington.
On August 18, three days after he met Trump in Alaska, Putin had also called up Modi and “shared his insights” on the meeting. This came hours before Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders. The PMO said Putin shared with Modi his assessment of his meeting with Trump.
Earlier, on August 9, in the run-up to the Alaska talks amid the strain in Delhi’s ties with Washington after Trump doubled the tariff on India over its purchase of Russian oil, Modi and Putin had a phone conversation during which they discussed “the latest developments on Ukraine” and reaffirmed their “commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”.
Russia had criticised Trump’s tariff action and backed India’s right to choose its trading partners.
Story continues below this ad
Earlier this week, Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade advisor, described the Russia-Ukraine war as “Modi’s war”, and said “the road to peace runs, at least partly, right through New Delhi”, adding, “everybody in America loses because of what India is doing.”
India has maintained a firm stand on its strategic autonomy. Vinay Kumar, Indian ambassador to Russia, told the TASS news agency: “Indian companies will continue buying (oil) from wherever they get the best deal”.
Putin is slated to visit India in December this year, according to a statement by the Kremlin Friday.
In their call Saturday, Modi and Zelenskyy also “reviewed progress in the India-Ukraine bilateral partnership and discussed ways to further enhance cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.”
Story continues below this ad
In a detailed post on X, Zelenskyy said he reaffirmed Ukraine’s “readiness for a meeting with the head of Russia”.
“I informed (Modi) about the talks with President Trump in Washington with the participation of European leaders. It was a productive and important conversation, a shared vision among partners on how to achieve real peace,” he said.
Almost two weeks have passed (since the Alaska talks), and while he said that strikes from Russia continue, he thanked Modi for “his words of condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims”.
“We coordinated our positions ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
“The end of this war must begin with an immediate ceasefire, with the necessary silence,” Zelenskyy said, adding “India is ready to make the necessary efforts and to deliver the appropriate signal to Russia and other leaders during the meetings on the sidelines of the summit.”
He also indicated a possible meeting between him and Modi “in the near future”. Last year, Modi had travelled to Moscow and Kyiv and announced that “solutions can’t be found on the battlefield”, and that India was ready to support peace efforts. He had also invited Zelenskyy to India.
