Modi implores tense Putin to end Ukraine war

Key Points:

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine for the sake of humanity during their meeting in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing the need to move from "endless war to an end to the war."
• Modi called for a peace settlement, invoking figures like Gandhi and Mother Theresa, and stated that India supports all peace efforts, while Putin responded that Russia is "moving forward along this path."
• Despite Modi’s direct appeal, India continues to maintain strong trade ties with Russia, being a major buyer of Russian oil and supplying gasoline to Moscow, even as Ukraine intensifies attacks on Russian infrastructure.
• Russia insists that any end to the war must be on its own terms, which Ukraine rejects, and recent rumors suggest Moscow plans to mobilize additional troops and increase ground offensives.
• Modi did not indicate using India’s economic relationship with Russia as leverage to pressure Moscow, focusing instead on cooperation in energy, innovation, space, fertilizers, and people-to-people ties; Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit in Delhi in September.