Russia’s Putin reacts to PM Modi’s ‘peaceful dialogue’ appeal in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said India and China supported “peaceful dialogue” in Ukraine, a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping appeared to differ with him over the conflict at a summit in Uzbekistan last month, reported news agency Reuters.
At a press conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, Putin said Ukraine was not prepared for negotiations and thanked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for his role in brokering prisoner exchanges.
“India and China always talk about the need to establish dialogue and resolve everything peacefully, we know their position. These are our close allies, partners, and we respect their position. But we also know the position of Kyiv – they keep saying that they want negotiations and it seems like they asked for it, and now they have made an official decision that prohibits negotiations,” Reuters quoted Putin as saying.
During a meeting with Putin in Samarkand in September, Modi had told the Russian leader that “today’s era is not of war”, remarks that were seen by a section of world leaders as a public rebuke.
Modi made the call for an early cessation of hostilities at a bilateral meeting with Putin — the first between the two leaders since their summit in New Delhi last December and since the Ukraine war began this February — on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the historic city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
“I know today’s era is not [an era] of war. We discussed this issue with you on phone several times, that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi, while delivering his televised opening remarks at the meeting with Putin.
He said he hoped to talk about “how we can move forward on the road of peace in the coming days”.
Addressing reporters later in the day, Putin said there were no plans to adjust his country’s military operations in Ukraine despite a counteroffensive.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi had also told the United Nations General Assembly that Beijing supported all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the “crisis” in Ukraine, adding that the pressing priority was to facilitate peace talks.
No need for talks with Biden: Putin
Putin, however, saw “no need” for talks with US President Joe Biden as tensions with Washington escalated over a litany of issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We should ask him if he’s ready to hold such talks with me or not. I don’t see the need, to be honest,” Putin said, asked about a potential meeting with Biden on the sidelines of a G20 summit in November.
He added that his participation in the summit hosted by Indonesia is not yet decided.
“Right now, there is no need for massive strikes (on Ukraine). For now, there are other tasks, because, I believe, out of 29 targets, (only) 7 were not hit as the ministry of defence planned, but they are getting to them gradually. There is no need for massive strikes, in any case not for now. In future, we’ll see,” Putin said.