Modi chairs high-level meet on next-gen reforms
New Delhi, Aug 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the summit he held with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, and discussed the prospects of a long-term solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
In the phone conversation, their second in the last 10 days, Modi conveyed to President Putin India’s consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and that it supports all efforts in this regard.
Trump and Putin met in Alaska for nearly three hours on Friday but the much-anticipated summit ended without a ceasefire deal.
“Thank my friend, President Putin, for his phone call and for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska,” the prime minister said in a social media post.
“India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard. I look forward to our continued exchanges in the days to come,” he said.
Modi and Putin held the conversation hours before President Trump holds a crucial meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several key European leaders in the White House.
It also came against the backdrop of strains in New Delhi’s ties with Washington following President Trump slapping an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil.
In an article in the Financial Times, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro criticised India for its procurement of Russian crude oil at discounted rates.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Putin shared his assessment of his meeting with President Trump.
“While thanking President Putin, the prime minister underlined India’s consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue. He reiterated that India supports all efforts in this regard,” it said.
The PMO said the two leaders also touched upon a number of issues of bilateral cooperation with a view to further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.
A Russian readout of the phone conversation said President Putin briefed PM Modi on the key outcomes of the Russia-US summit in Alaska.
“The prime minister thanked President Putin for the update. The leaders discussed prospects of a long-term resolution to the Ukrainian crisis and agreed to maintain dialogue on the matter, as well as on other pressing international issues,” it said.
Friday’s talks between Putin and Trump was the first US-Russia summit since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday welcomed the summit and commended Putin and Trump for their initiative to bring peace to Ukraine.
“India welcomes the Summit meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia,” the MEA had said.
“Their leadership in the pursuit of peace is highly commendable,” it had said.
India has been consistently calling for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
In July last year, PM Modi travelled to Moscow and told Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets.
The next month, Modi visited the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv and conveyed to President Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the war.
The prime minister had said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting, which included top Union ministers, secretaries and economists, to deliberate on the roadmap for the next generation reforms, one of the key announcements he had made in his Independence Day address.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh attended the meeting, besides senior bureaucrats heading different ministries and economists.
Modi said on X, “Chaired a meeting to discuss the roadmap for Next-Generation Reforms. We are committed to speedy reforms across all sectors, which will boost Ease of Living, Ease of Doing Business and prosperity.”
He had on August 15 announced the formation of a task force for ‘next-generation reforms’ and revision of GST laws, as he devoted a major part of his 103-minute speech to highlight the goal of making India self-reliant in a host of sectors ranging from semiconductors to fertilisers.
