Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked PM Modi, along with other world leaders, in his briefing on Ukraine. Earlier, PM Modi, in Putin’s presence, had stressed that “this is not the era of war” in his reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his first reaction to Washington’s 30-day ceasefire plan in Ukraine, thanked US President Donald Trump along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he started his press briefing with “words of gratitude.”
Putin expressed his gratitude to Trump for “paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement,” as he added, “All of us have lots on our plates, but many state leaders, the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the president of Brazil, and the president of the South African Republic. They devote a lot of time to this issue.”
“We are thankful to them because it’s all for the noble cause of stopping hostilities and preventing human casualties,” the Russian president added.
Earlier, during his visit to the White House, PM Modi had underscored that “India is not neutral” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict; rather, it is in favour of peace. PM Modi had also stressed in Putin’s presence that “this is not the era of war.”
Putin also noted the need to develop mechanisms to control possible breaches of the truce and signalled that Russia would seek guarantees that Ukraine would not use the break in hostilities to rearm and continue mobilisation.
“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Putin said.
The Russian leader made the remarks just hours after the arrival of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for talks on the 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine has accepted.
Moreover, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app Thursday for what he said was its slow response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to delay any peace deal.
By signalling its openness to a ceasefire at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the war, Ukraine has presented the Kremlin with a dilemma — whether to accept a truce and abandon hopes of making new gains, or reject the offer and risk derailing a cautious rapprochement with Washington.
