Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said that he wanted the Ukraine conflict to be resolved peacefully and “quickly” as he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Russia.
The three-day gathering, held amid tight security in the city of Kazan, is the biggest international event in Russia since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, with Putin seeking to build an alliance aimed at challenging the West’s “hegemony.”
“We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Modi told Putin after the two shook hands and embraced.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability,” he said.
Putin hailed what he called Russia and India’s “privileged strategic partnership” and vowed to build ties further.
New Delhi has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the Ukraine conflict began, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv, while avoiding explicit condemnation of Russia’s offensive.
Modi visited Kyiv in August and Moscow in July in an effort to encourage talks, as India cast itself as a potential mediator.
About two dozen other leaders are to attend the summit, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The main issues on the agenda include Putin’s idea for a BRICS-led payment system to rival SWIFT, an international financial network that Russian banks were cut off from in 2022, and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The Kremlin has touted the BRICS summit as a diplomatic triumph that shows Western attempts to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine conflict have failed.
The US has dismissed the idea that BRICS could become a “geopolitical rival,” but has expressed concern over Moscow flexing its diplomatic muscle as the Ukraine conflict rages.
Moscow has steadily advanced on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year while strengthening ties with China, Iran and North Korea — three of Washington’s adversaries.
By gathering BRICS leaders in Kazan, the Kremlin “aims to show that not only is Russia not isolated, it has partners and allies,” Moscow-based political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin last year over the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, and the Russian leader abandoned plans to attend the previous summit in ICC member South Africa.
This time, the Kremlin wants to show an “alternative to Western pressure and that the multipolar world is a reality,” Kalachev said, referring to Moscow’s efforts to shift power away from Western nations.
In televised talks, Putin told Modi the leaders in Kazan “should take a number of important decisions, aimed at further improving the organization’s activities.”
Putin was also to meet Xi and the leaders of South Africa and Egypt yesterday, followed by separate talks with Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian today.
Guterres is to sit down with Putin tomorrow, according to the Kremlin, for talks that have been criticized by Kyiv.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS