SCO Summit: PM Modi to address plenary session, meet Putin today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the preliminary session of the SCO Summit on Monday in China’s Tianjin.

On the second day of the SCO Summit, Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“Prime Minister will be addressing the plenary session of the Summit, where he will outline India’s approach to fostering regional cooperation under the SCO umbrella. After this engagement, he is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, following which he will depart for India,” Foreign Secretary Misri said on Sunday.

The meeting between Modi and Putin will take place at a time when US President Donald Trump has slapped 50 per cent tariffs on India, which include 25 per cent tariff as part of the broader rollout on over 60 countries and 25 per cent additional punitive tariff over India’s purchase of Russia’s oil. Trump and his aides have accused India of driving the Russian war on Ukraine.

Irrespective of Trump’s pressure campaign, India has continued to engage with Russia. Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Russia and held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Later this year, the Kremlin has said that Putin will hold a summit with Modi in India.

Ahead of the meeting with Putin, Modi held a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

In a hint that he sees India as an intermediary in dialogue with Russia, Zelenskyy said that India was ready to “deliver the appropriate signal” to Russia.

“It is impossible to speak meaningfully about peace while our cities and communities are under constant fire. India is ready to make the necessary efforts and to deliver the appropriate signal to Russia and other leaders during the meetings on the sidelines of the summit,” said Zelenskyy after the call.

The Modi-Putin meeting will take place at a time when Trump-led efforts to bring a settlement to the war in Ukraine appear to have failed as Russian attacks on Ukraine have not ceased and Russia has essentially rejected the proposed meeting with Zelenskyy and doubled down on maximalist demands, most of which are non-starters for Ukraine.