“We will do everything to stop this as soon as possible. Only, unfortunately, the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, announced its rejection of the negotiation process and stated that it wants to achieve its goals by military means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told India’s President Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, according to a readout of a bilateral meeting published by the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin expressed regret that “the opposing side, the leadership of Ukraine, has rejected peace talks” and said he wants to achieve its goals by military means.

The Indian prime minister told Putin on Friday on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan: “I know that today’s era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this.” He said democracy, diplomacy, and dialogue kept the world together.

But Putin said Kyiv had rejected negotiations and was set on achieving its own objectives “on the battlefield”.

Putin said he understood Modi’s concerns about the war in Ukraine.“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express,” he told Modi.

New Delhi and Moscow have longstanding ties dating back to the Cold War, and Russia remains by far India’s biggest arms supplier.

Putin, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday, admitted that Beijing had expressed its concerns about the war.

“Our trade is increasing, thanks to your additional supplies of Russian fertilisers to the Indian markets, which have increased more than eightfold. I am optimistic that this will greatly help India’s agricultural sector,” Putin said.

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