At a meeting between Indian and Russian leaders in Uzbekistan on Friday, Putin publicly acknowledged New Delhi’s “concerns” about the conflict for the first time – a day after he did the same during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The exchanges at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization gathering in Samarkand are Russia’s most public acknowledgments of concern in Beijing and New Delhi about the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine. Although Xi and Modi have both tried to remain neutral in Ukraine, their strong ties to Russia are critical to Putin’s effort to show that Moscow remains a major player on the world stage. Putin’s new deference to Modi and Xi’s concerns about the war in Ukraine underscores how Moscow is increasingly dependent on their willingness to buy its exports after Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia. “I know that today is not a time of war and we have spoken with you many times over the phone on the issue,” Modi told Putin in remarks released by India’s foreign ministry. The Indian Prime Minister added that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue held the world together. “I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript. “We will do our best to stop this as soon as possible.” But Putin tried to blame Kyiv for the continuation of the conflict, saying: “Only, unfortunately, the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, announced the abandonment of the negotiation process, stated that they want to achieve their goals by military means, such as they say “on the battlefield”. The remarks about the war, which Putin routinely calls a “special military operation” to calm public opinion in Russia, appeared to differ from his usual mantra that “tasks will be carried out in full.” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused uproar in New Delhi centered around the disruption of food and raw energy supplies and the forced evacuation of thousands of Indian medical students from Ukraine. India, whose political elite has long courted close ties with Russia, has in the past called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine but has largely been reticent about public comment on the war. “Definitely, it’s a change in tone,” Indrani Bagchi, managing director of the Ananta Aspen Centre, a New Delhi think tank, said of Modi’s remarks on Friday. “The tone is not overtly critical, but the fact that he actually said this is no time for war is an implied criticism.” Putin’s comments to Modi came a day after his first face-to-face meeting with Xi since the conflict began, where he also publicly acknowledged Beijing’s “questions and concerns.” India and China have increased their purchases of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine began in February, allowing Moscow to mostly offset the loss of budget revenue due to sanctions. India’s Russian oil imports more than tenfold to 8.42 million tonnes in the second quarter of this year from 0.66 million tonnes in the first quarter. In his meeting with Modi, Putin spoke warmly of Russia’s “strategic, privileged partnership” with India. He welcomed the “constructive” economic relations between the two countries and their growing trade. “Fertilizer deliveries from Russia to India increased more than eightfold – not by some percentage, but more than eightfold,” Putin said. “I hope this will help Indian farmers solve the difficult task of providing food for the country’s population.” Russia is also India’s biggest arms supplier, although New Delhi is stepping up purchases from other countries in an effort to diversify supplies while also trying to boost its domestic defense production. India’s foreign ministry said the two leaders “appreciated the solid momentum in bilateral relations” during their meeting.
