“War cannot solve problems,” says India’s Prime Minister Modi to Russia’s Putin | Narendra Modi News

The killing of children is “unbearable,” Modi says a day after a deadly attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that peace is “of paramount importance” and a solution to the war in Ukraine “cannot be found on the battlefield.”

Putin – who spoke at a televised meeting with Modi in the Kremlin on Tuesday – said their two countries had a “special strategic partnership” and praised the Indian president for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“I thank you for the attention you are paying to the most pressing problems, including finding ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis – primarily, of course, by peaceful means,” Putin said.

India has become an increasingly important partner for sanctions-hit Russia as the country increasingly shifts its trade away from the West and seeks to show that Western attempts to isolate the country have failed.

New Delhi has so far refrained from criticizing Russia over the war and has increased its purchases of cheap Russian oil to record levels while urging Ukraine and Russia to resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

“As a friend, I have also said that peace is of utmost importance for the better future of our next generation,” Modi said in Hindi as he sat next to Putin. “When innocent children are murdered, you see them dying, your heart aches and that pain is unbearable.”

The Indian president’s comments came a day after the deadly attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, just one of several attacks that left 37 people dead in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Russia and described the trip as a “devastating blow to peace efforts”.

“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy embracing the world’s bloodiest criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelensky wrote in a message on social media.

In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, including three children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia’s brutal missile attack.

A Russian missile hit Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, targeting young cancer patients. Many were… pic.twitter.com/V1k7PEz2rJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024

Modi, visiting Russia for the first time since 2019, hopes to strengthen energy and defense cooperation with Russia, as India depends on Russia for much of its military equipment and oil.

However, the Indian president must tread carefully so as not to anger the Western powers he is also courting and who are skeptical about the relationship.

On Tuesday, Modi said he appreciated Putin’s leadership and described India’s relationship with Moscow as one of “mutual trust and mutual respect”.

He pointed out that Russian manufacturing and energy were boosting the Indian economy, creating jobs for young people and curbing fuel prices.

As a sign of further cooperation, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom announced that it was holding talks about the possible construction of six more nuclear power plants in India.

Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova reported from Moscow that the Indian delegation was also likely to “discuss a long-term agreement on supplying oil from Russia to India at discounted prices.”

Putin and Modi are also expected to discuss broader trade developments, including plans to build a maritime corridor between India’s largest port, Chennai, and Vladivostok, the gateway to Russia’s Far East.

Trade between India and Russia has seen a sharp increase due to strong energy cooperation, reaching nearly $65 billion in fiscal year 2023-24, according to Indian External Affairs Minister Vinay Mohan Kwatra.