In meeting with Putin, NSA Doval highlights PM Modi’s Ukraine peace efforts

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg, where they discussed the importance of security issues in bilateral relations. The meeting comes amidst renewed efforts to find a solution to the Ukraine conflict.

During the meeting, Doval conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s readiness to share information on his recent visit to Ukraine.

“As Prime Minister Narendra Modi told you in a telephonic call that he was keen to brief you about his visit to Ukraine and meeting President Zelenskyy, he wanted me to personally brief you about the talks,” Doval told Putin in a meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) nations, being held from September 10-12 in St Petersburg.

Doval, while briefing Putin about the talks between Modi and Zelenskyy, said, “The talk was in a very closed format, it was only the two leaders. He(Zelenskyy) had his two persons with him, I happen to be with the Prime Minister.”

⚡️BREAKING: 🇮🇳NSA Doval, per Modi’s request, briefed 🇷🇺Putin on Indian PM’s meet with Zelensky

Doval witnessed their conversation firsthand, the meeting was conducted in a closed format

Modi asked Doval to come in person and brief Russian president on the talks pic.twitter.com/hkTUY30zkz

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) September 12, 2024

PM Modi met Zelenskyy on August 23, on a first visit by an Indian PM to the conflict-hit nation-state. Modi’s Ukraine visit came nearly six weeks after he visited Russia to discuss the conflict-ridden situation.

He told Zelenskyy that “the road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy” and “we should move in that direction without wasting any time”. “Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis,” Modi said, assuring the President that India, and he personally, are willing to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate early return of peace.

Four days later, Modi spoke to Putin and “exchanged perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and his insights from the visit to Kyiv.

During Thursday’s meeting, Putin proposed to hold a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on October 22, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan to summarise the outcomes of joint work on the implementation of the agreements reached during his Moscow visit in July and to outline prospects for the near future. “We are waiting for our good friend Modi and best regards to him,” the Russian media quoted Putin as saying.

Earlier this month, the Russian President, while speaking during a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russian city of Vladivostok, suggested that China, India, and Brazil could serve as mediators in potential peace talks regarding the conflict in Ukraine. He also mentioned that a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators during early talks in Istanbul, though never implemented, could provide a foundation for future discussions.

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