"Humanity Wants An End To Russia-Ukraine Conflict," PM Modi Tells Putin In China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in China on Monday, where he welcomed Moscow's recent efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. He hailed close ties between Moscow and New Delhi and said the bilateral cooperation was critical for global peace and security.

"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.

Both leaders also discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral relations and exchanged views on issues of regional and global importance. 

PM Modi noted that in difficult times, India and Russia have "stood shoulder to shoulder"  in “toughest of circumstances” and close ties between New Delhi and Moscow are important for the "peace, prosperity and stability in the world."

"We have been continuously discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We welcome all the recent efforts for peace. We hope that all parties will move forward constructively. A way has to be found to end the conflict as soon as possible and establish lasting peace. This is the call of the entire humanity," said PM Modi.

PM Modi also confirmed that the Russian leader is scheduled to visit India in December. He 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.

PM Modi and President Putin held talks in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, on the sidelines of the two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation regional bloc. Earlier, both the leaders boarded the same car to the venue of the bilateral meeting.

Earlier, the Russian President echoed similar sentiments and noted that, "December 21 will mark 15 years since we achieved our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership."

"I can say with confidence that our relationship is principle-based and has multidimensional cooperation," Putin said in his opening remarks during the bilateral meeting with PM Modi on Monday.