Putin Says Working On Ukraine Plan, PM Says "Not Neutral, On Side Of Peace"

Russia is working towards a 'peaceful settlement' in Ukraine - to end a war that Moscow began in February 2022 - and details of that proposal have been shared with India, President Vladimir Putin said Friday morning in Delhi, in a joint statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister, meanwhile, reconfirmed India's position as a 'champion of peace', and said Delhi supports a solution born out of dialogue and diplomacy rather than more military conflict.

"We support a peaceful solution," the Prime Minister said, repeating India's position - unchanged since the war began - on Ukraine. In the past the PM has repeatedly said "this is not an era of war". 

The two leaders met at Delhi's Hyderabad House this morning.

Putin is in India for a two-day visit; he landed in Delhi Thursday to a red-carpet welcome that included a bear hug from the PM and an invitation to ride in his personal vehicle - a specially-built Toyota Fortuner.

That Putin skipped his usual armoured limousine - the Aurus Senat that is flown in for every State visit he makes - and rode with the PM underlines the warmth between the two leaders, sources told NDTV.

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Overall, Putin's India visit - watched closely by the West, as underlined by a joint opinion piece from the German, British, and French envoys that was published this week, much to Delhi's displeasure - has assumed greater significance since the downturn in India's relationship with the United States, a downturn fuelled largely by trade tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump's administration.

On the US' tariffs - 50 per cent, at one time - Putin pointed out the US itself still buys nuclear fuel from his country. "That is also fuel... If they have the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn't India?"

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India's purchase of Russian oil, despite sanctions in light of the war in Ukraine, have also complicated ties with the US, as have Delhi's long-time reliance on Moscow as a military equipment supplier.

However, crude imports are set to hit a three-year low this month following the US' tariff.

Nevertheless, India has defended its continued trade, including the purchase of crude oil. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, more than once, that the West needs to grow out of the mindset that "Europe's problems are the world's problems but the world's problems are not Europe's problems".

As a result, boosting of defence ties, insulating India-Russia trade from external pressure and exploring cooperation in small modular reactors are expected to be the focus of Putin's visit.