SCO meet: 'Not an era of war,' says PM Modi as Putin addresses India's concerns about Ukraine during bilateral talks

New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi told Russian president Vladimir Putin that “today is not an era of war” during bilateral talks between the two leaders on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand.

“Today’s era isn’t of war & I’ve spoken to you about it on the call. Today we’ll get the opportunity to talk about how can we progress on the path of peace. India-Russia has stayed together with each other for several decades,” PM Modi told Putin.

#WATCH | I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine & also about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible. We will keep you abreast of what is happening there: Russian President Putin during a bilateral meet with PM Modi

(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/jkSBQzcqtO

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022

During the talks, Russian president Vladimir Putin told Modi that he is aware of India’s position as well as concerns about the Ukraine conflict.

“We want all of this to end as soon as possible. We will keep you abreast of what is happening there,” Putin told Modi.

On a lighter note, Putin told Modi that he is aware that the Indian PM will be celebrating his birthday on Friday but it was not a Russian tradition to wish birthdays in advance.

#WATCH | My dear friend, tomorrow you are about to celebrate your birthday...,says Russian President Vladimir Putin to PM Modi ahead of his birthday

(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/93JWy2H43S

— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022

Modi later tweeted that he discussed global issues with Putin.

Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues. pic.twitter.com/iHW5jkKOW0

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 16, 2022

Earlier in the day, PM Modi discussed bilateral issues with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan.

Notably, this is the first in-person SCO Summit after the COVID pandemic hit the world. The last in-person SCO Heads of State Summit was held in Bishkek in June 2019.

The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey).

With inputs from agencies

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