Death of children in conflict heart-wrenching, Modi tells Putin after Zelenskyy's jibe

New Delhi: If innocent children die in conflicts, it is heart-wrenching, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin as the two leaders met in Moscow on Tuesday just close on the heels of a missile strike by Russia on Ukraine’s largest hospital for treatment of minors suffering from cancer.

With the United States and the rest of the West keeping a close watch on his visit to Moscow and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine taking a not-so-subtle jibe at him for hugging Putin, Modi sought to reassure the world that New Delhi was on the side of peace.

“Your Excellency, any person, who believes in humanity, is pained, when people die, be it in a war, a conflict, or a terrorist attack. And, especially when innocent children die, it is heart-wrenching,” the Prime Minister told the Russian President on camera before the two leaders had a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow.

Modi landed in Moscow on Monday – the day the Russian Army launched a series of missile strikes on Kyiv and even targeted the hospital, where children suffering from cancer undergo treatment. He drove to the Russian President’s dacha in the Novo-Ogaryovo suburb of Moscow for a private dinner. As Putin received Modi with a hug, Zelenskyy took to X to express disappointment.

“A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble. 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,” the Ukrainian President wrote on the social media platform.

Modi sought to blunt the criticism by reiterating India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict during his opening remarks at his meeting with Putin on Tuesday.

He told the Russian President on camera that India was on the side of peace and was ready to contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine. “For a bright future for the new generation, peace is essential...Peace talks do not succeed when bullets fly and bombs explode,” he added.

“I appreciate the attention you pay to the most pressing issues, including your efforts to find ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis, primarily through peaceful means,” replied Putin.

Modi also referred to his discussion with Putin on the Russia-Ukraine conflict when the two leaders had informal talks on Monday. He said his talks with the Russian President made him optimistic about peace.

The two leaders held the 22nd India-Russia annual summit on Tuesday, after a hiatus of two years.

With Modi meeting Putin in Moscow on Monday and Tuesday, the US urged India to convey to Russia that respect for the United Nations Charter would be the key to any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

“We would urge India, as we do any country when it engages with Russia, to make clear that any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine needs to be one that respects the UN Charter, that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukraine’s sovereignty,” Matthew Miller, a spokesperson of the US State Department, told journalists in Washington DC.

New Delhi took note of the words from Washington DC with sources saying that India had always called for respecting the UN Charter and the sovereignty and integrity of all nations.

This was Modi’s first visit to Moscow after Putin ordered the Russian Army to launch “special military operations” in Ukraine in February 2022.

New Delhi drew flak from the US and the rest of the West for not joining the clamour against Russia after the former Soviet Union nation launched its “special military operations” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. New Delhi has been maintaining a strategic balance in its ties with Russia and the US-led West.

India’s decades-old strategic partnership with and its dependence on the Soviet Union and its successor Russia for military hardware appeared to have stopped New Delhi from speaking up against Moscow. India has been circumventing sanctions imposed by the US and the rest of the West on Russia and continued bilateral trade. It also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.