Russian President Putin dials PM Modi; briefs him on Alaska summit
New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday conveyed to President Vladimir Putin India's consistent position for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict when the Russian leader apprised him on the summit talks he held with US President Donald Trump.
Trump and Putin met in Alaska for nearly three hours on Friday but the much-anticipated summit ended without a ceasefire deal.
Following the phone conversation with Putin, Modi said India has consistently called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and supports all efforts in this regard.
"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.
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.
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 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 Volodymyr 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.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
