Both India and Russia on Wednesday denied there had been any disagreement between President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their talks in Moscow this week.
Modi delivered an implicit rebuke to Putin on Tuesday, the day after a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, when he told him the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters a decision to cancel a session of talks between Russian and Indian delegations was taken for scheduling reasons and because the entire agenda had been covered.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with any disagreements or problematic situations,” he said.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra denied reports of friction between the two leaders, saying they were incorrect and misleading.
He also denied there were any cancellations during the visit, saying the two leaders “far exceeded” the time planned for their meetings.
“To the best of my knowledge there were no cancellations of any particular programming element during the prime minister’s visit to Moscow,” Kwatra said at a press briefing in Vienna.
“Whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity is pained when there is loss of lives,” Modi said in Moscow on Tuesday, in remarks made during a meeting with Putin.
Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday reiterated in Vienna that India stands ready to give all possible support to restoring peace to war-torn Ukraine.
Modi arrived in Vienna after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the Indian leader urged “peace through dialogue”, saying that “war cannot solve problems”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised a photo of Modi hugging Putin during the visit, saying it was “a devastating blow to peace”.
“This is not an age of war. Problems cannot be solved on the battlefield,” Modi told reporters in Vienna alongside Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
