Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tianjin, amid tensions in India-US relations over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese port city against the backdrop of possibly the worst phase in India-US relations in over two decades.
During the talks, Modi said, “We welcome all recent efforts to bring peace to Ukraine and hope that all the relevant sides will move forward constructively,” adding that it is humanity's call to end the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible.
“Find ways to bring permanent peace to the region,” he said.
The prime minister and the Russian president also discussed bilateral cooperation in sectors such as economy, finance and energy, and expressed satisfaction over the steady growth of ties in these areas, according to an Indian readout.
Modi also said that India is waiting to receive the Russian leader, as the meeting comes just months before Putin is scheduled to travel to India for summit-level talks with the prime minister.
“India and Russia always moved forward shoulder-to-shoulder even in difficult times,” Modi said, adding that close relations between the two countries are significant for global peace, stability and prosperity.
"The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues, including the latest developments concerning Ukraine," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
"The prime minister reiterated his support for the recent initiatives that have been taken to address the conflict in Ukraine, and emphasised the need to expedite a cessation of the conflict, and find a durable peace settlement," it said.
The two leaders reaffirmed their support for further strengthening of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, according to the MEA statement.
Modi and Putin had shared a limousine to the bilateral meeting venue.
“The two leaders continued their one-to-one dialogue on the way to the hotel where they were to be joined by members of their teams.
“However, on reaching the hotel they did not deboard the Russian president's limousine and continued their conversation for 50 minutes,” Russian national radio station VestiFM reported.
Addressing the SCO summit, Putin said that constant attempts of the West to bring Ukraine into NATO is one of the main reasons for the conflict between the two nations.
Defending the invasion of Ukrains, Putin claimed that the crisis arose largely because of the "coup d'etat in Kiev in 2014, which was provoked by the West", Russian news agency Tass reported.
"The second reason for the crisis is the West's constant attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO. As we have repeatedly emphasised, this poses a direct threat to Russia's security," he said.
In February 2014, deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capital Kyiv culminated in the ousting of then-president Viktor Yanukovych.
"As a result of the coup in 2014, the political leadership of the country that did not support Ukraine's accession to NATO was removed," he said.
Putin arrived in China to take part in the summit of the 10-member bloc.
Putin's presence at the summit shifted focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, unsuccessful attempts by US President Donald Trump to work out a ceasefire and pressuring India with heavy tariffs for buying Russian oil.
(With inputs from PTI)