Al Jazeera :
It took a day for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call for “an immediate cessation of violence” after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announced war against Ukraine. In a phone call with Putin, Modi called for “concerted efforts from all sides”, but failed to take any action against India’s ally.
The two countries enjoy tight economic ties, further strengthened by a landmark meeting in December of last year when the two leaders signed a slew of bilateral defence agreements, including India’s procurement of more than 600,000 assault rifles from Russia.
A statement released on Thursday after the phone call stressed that the diplomatic teams of the two countries would continue regular contact “on issues of topical interest”.
The Indian leader reiterated “his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue”. Modi also expressed his concerns over the safety of the about 20,000 Indian students currently stranded in Ukraine. Igor Polikha, the Ukrainian ambassador to India, expressed “deep dissatisfaction” with India’s position. “This is not the time for protocol-bound statements,” Polikha was quoted as saying by local media.
