Heart bleeds when innocent kids die in war: PM Modi to Putin

A day after his hug of President Vladimir Putin sparked outrage in the West, PM Narendra Modi rapped Putin publicly as he told him peace talks or conflict resolution under the shadow of guns can’t be successful, underlining the need for an immediate ceasefire. Significantly, Modi also vented the global community’s anger over a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s largest children hospital on the day he landed in Moscow for his first visit to Russia in 5 years.
However, as he raised concerns about the impact of the conflict on the Global South, the Indian PM also softened his message by saying he had heard Putin’s "frank" views on peace and it had inspired hope in him.
Modi’s remarks before Putin followed an unprecedented blowback from Ukraine and the US to his embrace of Putin, with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing it as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts on a day the children's hospital was attacked. The State Department too said it had raised concerns with India about Russia-India ties and that it wanted Modi to ask Putin to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Your Excellency, let's take war, any conflict or terrorist acts. Any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die. When we feel such pain, the heart simply explodes, and I had the opportunity to talk about these issues with you yesterday,'' Modi told Putin in the Kremlin, speaking in the presence of reporters and just before the official summit talks.
"As a friend, I have always told you that peace is essential for our future generations. But I also know that no solution can be found on a battlefield. Solutions and peace talks will not be successful under the shadow of guns, bombs and bullets. We must find a way to peace through dialogue," Modi told Putin, adding fresh ideas and a new thinking had emerged from his talks with the Russian president on Monday.
While reiterating all possible support and contribution for any peace effort, Modi said he wanted to assure both Russia and the world that India is in favour of peace.
Modi’s comments about children are of particular significance as Zelenskyy had used the attack on the hospital – although Russia has denied any role in it - to attack the Indian PM. "It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," he had said in a post on X. Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra later said Modi was very "categorical" in expressing concern at the loss of lives in the attacks on Monday, particularly of children.
According to Indian government sources, that there can’t be a solution on the battlefield was Modi’s overriding message to Putin, like "this isn’t the era of war" remark before the Russian president in Samarkand in 2022.
Putin said in his own public remarks he appreciated Modi’s efforts to find ways to resolve the crisis through peaceful means. Modi’s emphasis on peace talks sans violence is also important as it doubles down on the international community’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. India remains the only major country, apart from China, to have not condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
That Modi was looking to soothe frayed nerves in the West was obvious when he said the entire world was focused on the meeting and was drawing different meanings from it. The PM’s remarks before Putin seemed aimed at correcting the imbalance, as perceived by the West, in India’s position following its decision to skip ministerial-level participation in the Swiss peace summit and its refusal to endorse a joint declaration underlining Ukraine’s territorial integrity as the basis for any peace process.
The State Department had, in fact, said before the summit it was looking forward to Modi’s public remarks to see what he was going to talk about with Putin and it had made clear directly to India its concerns about India-Russia ties. Even while discussing cooperation under the game-changing initiative on critical and emerging technology, the US has made it clear to India there should not be any leakage of any sensitive and dual-use technology to Russia.