At the 77th United Nations General Assembly session in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's veiled criticism of Russia's war in Ukraine, made during the latter's face-to-face meeting with the Russian leader during the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Samarkand last week.
"Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India was right when he said the time is not for war. It is not for revenge against the West, or for opposing the West against the east. It is the time for a collective time for our sovereign equal states. To cope together with challenges we face," President Macron said.
What did Modi say to Putin?
Presumably, Macron was referring to PM Modi and Russia's President Vladimir Putin's conversation in Samarkand, wherein the former said, "Today's era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades."
"We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. I want to thank Russia and Ukraine for helping us to evacuate our students from Ukraine," PM Modi added.
Responding to PM Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he knows about India's position on the Ukraine conflict and "we want all of this to end as soon as possible".
"I know about your position on the Ukraine conflict. I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible," Putin said.
"But the other party, the leadership of Ukraine has claimed... that they refuse to engage in the negotiation process. They said they want to achieve their objectives, as they say, on the battlefield militarily. We will keep you abreast of everything that is happening over there," he added.
Rare praise in Western media for Modi
Two premier US print media outlets were both full of praise for the BJP leader -- something which is not usually the case, given their political leanings.
“Modi rebukes Putin over war in Ukraine,” read the headlines of The Washington Post.
Famously left-leaning daily The New York Times, which former US President Donald Trump famously called “a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” on Twitter in 2019 (before he was banned from the platform), highlighted Russia's growing isolation on the world stage, noting that even "India’s leader tells Putin that today is no time for war."
