PM Modi Sides With Peace Ahead Of Vladimir Putin Meet

Ahead of the 23rd Russia-India Summit, PM Modi told President Putin that India is “not neutral” in the Ukraine conflict, but always supports a peaceful resolution.

December 5, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a firm message of peace to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ahead of their 23rd Russia-India Summit at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, clarifying India’s position on the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In his televised opening remarks, PM Modi stated that India was “not neutral” but was, in fact, “on the side of peace.”

“India is on the side of peace. We always support peace. We support a peaceful solution to the conflict,” PM Modi said, reiterating India’s consistent call for an end to the nearly four-year-old war through dialogue and diplomacy.

President Putin, in turn, expressed his gratitude for New Delhi’s approach, telling PM Modi that he was thankful for the attention India was paying to peace efforts regarding Ukraine. Putin added that Russia was “working on a peaceful solution to the conflict.”

Balancing Act: Trade, Defence, and Geopolitics

President Putin’s first visit to India in four years comes at a pivotal geopolitical moment, testing New Delhi’s efforts to balance its strategic ties with both Moscow and Washington. The United States has been pushing for a Ukraine peace deal while simultaneously urging allies like India to scale back purchases of Russian oil and defence equipment.

Despite these external pressures, the bilateral summit is set to focus on deepening the “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”

Putin highlighted the broad scope of their relations, stating: “Russia and India have relations in the military sphere, as well as in space development, artificial intelligence, and other areas. We plan to move forward in all these areas.”

Key focus areas for the 23rd Summit are expected to include:

• Boosting Defence Ties: Finalising new defence deals and accelerating the delivery of critical military hardware, such as the S-400 missile systems.
• Trade Insulations: Discussing mechanisms, including rupee-rouble settlements, to insulate the rapidly growing bilateral trade—which hit a record $68.7 billion in the last fiscal year—from external economic sanctions.
• New Cooperation: Exploring new avenues in areas like small modular reactors (SMRs) for civil nuclear energy and the migration of skilled Indian workers to Russia.

Earlier in the day, the Russian President was accorded a ceremonial tri-services guard of honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, after paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He is scheduled to return to Moscow late Friday night, concluding his tightly packed visit.