Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace in Ukraine, following China in expressing concern about the almost seven-month-old conflict roiling the global economy.
The comments showed cracks in solidarity at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday and Friday.
Modi on Friday told Putin that “today’s era is not one for war,” during their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine and launched the bloodiest war in Europe in more than 70 years.
Photo: AP
Modi, whose country has continued to buy oil and arms from Russia despite US pleas to cut off funding, indicated he had previously expressed similar concerns in phone calls.
“Today, we will get a chance to discuss how we can move forward on a path of peace in the coming days,” Modi told Putin on the sidelines of the summit.
Putin acknowledged India’s concerns, echoing what he said a day earlier to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
“I know your stance on the conflict in Ukraine and the concerns you constantly express,” he said, adding: “We’ll do everything to end this as soon as possible.”
While it is too early to say whether India and China are breaking with Russia, the exchanges this week suggest growing anxiety about the prolonged conflict. China has provided Russia with key diplomatic support since the war began, accusing the US of provoking Putin into action by expanding NATO to Russia’s border, although Beijing has urged peace talks and so far avoided providing any direct military aid.
Putin on Thursday told Xi in their first in-person talks since the war began that he understood Beijing’s “questions and concerns” about the conflict. He hailed “the balanced position of our Chinese friends on the Ukraine crisis.”
Xi’s public remarks and the Chinese readouts of his meetings with Putin largely avoided the war, focusing on the need to cooperate on countering US global influence.
“China is willing to work with Russia, display the responsibilities of the major powers and play a leading role to inject stability and positive energy to a world in chaos,” Xi said.
The summit pointed to growing impatience with a war pushing Europe deeper into crisis and driving up global food prices. The meetings came days after some of Ukraine’s most significant battlefield victories yet, with its military reclaiming about 10 percent of the territory Russian-led forces had seized.
In his remarks with Modi, Putin accused Ukrainian leadership of not wanting to negotiate a peace deal. Kyiv has said that it is willing to talk only after Russia pulls its troops back to pre-invasion positions.
Putin, in remarks to Russian reporters in Samarkand, was later dismissive of Ukrainian gains and threatened escalation, calling his recent missile attacks “warning strikes.”
“If the situation develops further in this direction, our response will be more serious,” Putin said.
Russia’s military campaign was “proceeding at a slow pace, but consistently,” Putin said, adding that Moscow was using “only part” of its army.
Ukraine wrested control of a large swathe of the northeast of the country in a lightning offensive that forced Russian troops to flee, abandoning their equipment. The sudden losses dealt a major blow to the Kremlin’s efforts to seize eastern Ukraine.
In response, Russia fired missiles that plunged areas of Ukraine into darkness, and attacked elements of the water system in a city behind the front lines, causing severe damage and flooding.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College