Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow – his first since the Ukraine war broke out in 2022 – and the tone and tenor of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted India’s tightrope diplomacy to strike a balance between protecting its national interests and taking a nuanced position over the emerging geopolitics of the region. On the one hand, Modi delivered a blunt message to Putin that a solution to any conflict cannot be found on the battlefield, while on the other hand he emphasised the robust and time-tested friendship with Russia and spoke about further deepening the bilateral economic and trade relations.
The prime minister’s remark that peace talks do not succeed amid bombs, guns and bullets was meant to be a clear message to Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. Making it clear that it is on the side of peace, India offered to contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine. A joint statement issued after the bilateral talks said that the two sides highlighted the imperative of a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, including engagement between both parties. Modi’s sharp formulation this time goes beyond what he had told Putin at their previous bilateral meeting in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, about two years ago.