Ahead of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Beijing later this month, and a day after the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska, it was Narendra Modi’ s turn for a conversation with the Russian leader.
The Prime Minister’s Office said President Putin briefed Modi over the phone on the outcome of his high-stakes three-hour long meeting with Trump. It was the first in-person US-Russia talks since the Ukraine invasion began in early 2022. There was however no breakthrough.
Modi reiterated India’s unwavering position in favour of resolving the Ukraine conflict through peaceful means.
“India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard,” Modi said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. He also thanked Putin for the phone call and expressed keenness to continue strategic dialogue in the coming months.
The timing of the conversation is notable, with the SCO summit around the corner and Putin’s state visit to India later this year. They reviewed bilateral cooperation under the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, a term both countries use to describe their decades-old and multifaceted ties.
While India has maintained a delicate diplomatic balance during the Ukraine war, engaging both Kyiv and Moscow, there is growing criticism from the West, particularly Washington, over its continued imports of discounted Russian crude oil. This issue has become a fresh flashpoint in India-US relations.
Just last week, the Trump administration doubled tariffs on a range of Indian exports, citing concerns that India’s refining and re-export of Russian oil was inadvertently helping fund Moscow’s war effort.
The move has triggered concern in New Delhi, with officials calling the tariffs “unilateral and unfair.” India has defended its energy strategy, asserting that it operates independently in line with national interests and global energy security.
Despite these tensions, the Modi-Putin call signals a continued effort by both nations to strengthen their strategic partnership.
