Under world’s glare, PM does balancing act on Russia war | India News

NEW DELHI: As the world watched the India-Russia summit intently, hoping PM Narendra Modi would nudge President Vladimir Putin towards an early end to the Ukraine war, Modi’s message to the president going into the bilateral meeting was that the welfare of the world lay in the path to peace that the international community must work together to find. Modi reiterated that India was not neutral but on the side of peace, while backing all recent efforts to bring the war to an end.Putin thanked Modi for his efforts to seek a solution and briefed him on ongoing efforts, including with the US, to resolve the crisis peacefully. Both leaders were very upfront about sharing their perspectives as they brought the issue up in their televised opening remarks, with Modi attributing their continued exchanges on Ukraine to the trust they share in their relationship.“We support every effort for peace and we stand shoulder to shoulder with every effort for peace. The entire world has passed through many crises, from Covid until now. We hope that very soon the world will get relief from these worries and on the path of progress in the right direction, a new hope will emerge for the global community,” said Modi, expressing confidence that ongoing efforts would soon see the world headed towards peace. He also said India had always been ready to contribute to such efforts and would remain so.India will hope that Modi’s message, along with the fact that there was no big-ticket announcement in sensitive areas like defence, will help soothe frayed nerves in the West, which has been visibly riled by India’s hosting of Putin, even if under the 25-year-old annual summit mechanism. India is in the advanced stages of a free trade agreement with both the US, which has slapped a 25% tariff on India for its oil trade with Russia, and EU.With EU at least, India is hoping to conclude negotiations in the next few weeks as it would clear the ground for a successful India-EU summit on Jan 27. Brussels has closely followed Putin’s visit, concerned that it could throw a spanner in its efforts to upgrade the relationship with India through the FTA, for which both sides are still required to address contentious issues like EU’s carbon tax and its insistence on a commitment to the Paris Agreement in the bilateral trade agreement. However, except for the optics of the summit, it’s unlikely that EU would tie itself up in knots over the outcomes that focused mostly on areas like economic cooperation, healthcare, migration and media.India’s fresh call for peace followed its decision earlier this week to abstain from voting on a UNGA resolution demanding an end to Russia’s forced relocation of Ukrainian children.“We have had continuous discussions on Ukraine. You have also, from time to time, as a true friend, kept us informed of all matters. I believe that this trust is a great strength. I have discussed this subject many times with you and have also placed it before the world: the welfare of the world lies in the path of peace. We must all search for the path to peace together,” said Modi in his opening remarks.In his opening remarks, Putin said he discussed at length the Ukraine issue with Modi at the private dinner the PM hosted for him on Thursday. “I could share a great deal of details about the events taking place in Ukraine and what is being undertaken by us jointly with some other partners, including the US, on the question of a possible peaceful settlement of this crisis. And the actions we are taking together with some partners including the US on a possible peaceful settlement,” said Putin, adding that the relationship with India was characterised by substance.