
Kremlin informed on Friday (December 16) that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephonic conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a range of issues of mutual and global interest.
Indian prime minister's office stated that regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which started on February 24 and led to massive food and fuel crises, PM Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward.
The officials have stated that PM Modi and the Russian president also reviewed the bilateral ties in areas of energy, trade and investments, and defence cooperation.
During the conversation,Putin gave fundamental assessments of Russia's line on the Ukrainian direction atPM Modi's request.
PM Modi briefed Putin on India's ongoing Presidency of G-20 to highlight India's key priorities.
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Recently, the annual in-person India-Russia summit was also cancelled as official sources told WION that there were "scheduling issues". Last year in December, Putin visited India just weeks ahead of waging war on its neighbouring nation, Ukraine.
The brief meeting was watched by the world because the Russian leader, who didn't travel much during the COVID-19 pandemic, flew all the way to India to meet PM Modi in person, instead of holding a virtual meeting.
Recently, Modi and Putin met in September on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan and have spoken on the phone a number of times this year, including on the subject of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war, India took a neutral stance and backed diplomatic channels to end the war, which caused massive food and fuel crises globally. West criticised India's stance and also the import of Russian oil at discounted prices.
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