Putin says he is continually in contact with India, China, Brazil over Ukraine battle

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech throughout a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia September 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (September 5, 2024) named India among the many three international locations he’s continually in contact over the Ukraine battle and mentioned they’re sincerely making efforts to resolve it, state-owned TASS information company reported.

Reporting on his remarks on the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, US media outlet Politico reported him as additionally saying, “If there is a desire of Ukraine to carry on with the negotiations, I can do that.” Mr. Putin’s remarks got here inside two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic go to to Ukraine the place he held talks with President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We respect our friends and partners, who, I believe, sincerely seek to resolve all issues surrounding this conflict, primarily China, Brazil and India. I constantly keep in touch with our colleagues on this issue,” Mr. Putin was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency.

Separately, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Izvestia daily that India could help in establishing a dialogue on Ukraine.

Underlining the existing “extremely constructive, even pleasant relations” between Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin, he said the Indian Prime Minister can “lead the road on getting first-hand data from the contributors on this battle,” as he “freely communicates with Putin, with Zelenskyy, and with the Americans.”

“This offers an awesome alternative for India to throw its weight in world affairs, to make use of its affect that might drive the Americans and Ukrainians in the direction of utilizing a larger political will and getting into the peaceable settlement monitor,” Mr. Peskov mentioned.

He, nevertheless, mentioned there are “no specific plans” on Mr. Modi mediating on the difficulty.

“At this time they can hardly exist, as we do not see any preconditions for talks for now,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

Mr. Modi on August 23 visited Ukraine where he conveyed to President Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an “lively position” to restore peace in the region.

His nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with President Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries.

In his talks with Mr. Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Mr. Modi said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.