Indian PM Modi urges 'talks' to stop Ukraine war
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for dialogue to end the war in Ukraine at the start of a European tour on Monday but steered clear of condemning Russia over the invasion.
India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between the West and Moscow, and has called only for an immediate end to hostilities.
"We have insisted on a ceasefire and called for talks as the only way to resolve the dispute since the start of the Ukraine crisis," Modi told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
"We believe that there won't be any winners in this war and everyone will lose, which is why we are in favour of peace," he said.
Besides the humanitarian impact on Ukrainians, pressure on oil prices and global food supplies is also "putting a burden on every family in the world," he said.
Germany's Scholz stressed that the war in Ukraine threatened the "rule-based global order".
"Russia has jeopardised the fundamental principles of international law with its attack on Ukraine," he said.
"The war and the brutal assault on civilians in Ukraine show the unchecked manner in which Russia is violating the principles of the UN Charter," Scholz added, repeating his call for President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops.
