 "Putin calls PM Modi, condemns Pahalgam attack & backs India against terrorism, says MEA")
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday talked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and condemned the Pahalgam terrorist attack, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Indian readout said that Putin expressed full support to India in the fight against terrorism and emphasised that the perpetrators of the attack and their supporters must be brought to justice.
Putin is the latest leader to speak to Modi after the attacks after the likes of US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Both leaders reiterated their commitment to further deepen India and Russia. Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. PM conveyed greetings to President Putin on the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day and invited him for the Annual Summit to be held in India later in the year,” the readout further said.
Last month, terrorists killed 26 people in an attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. India has formally blamed Pakistan for the attack.
Following the attack, Pakistan has resorted to aggressive military posturing and rhetoric of war. On its part, India has taken a slew of policy measures, such as the expulsion of nearly all Pakistanis from the country and the suspension of Indus Waters Treaty.
The Putin-Modi call came within days of a call from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“Sergey Lavrov called to settle the differences between New Delhi and Islamabad by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in conformity with the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration,” said the Russian readout.
Even though Russia asked India and Pakistan to seek a resolution based on the 1972 Simla Agreement, Pakistan has suspended the agreement, which formed the basis of the subsequent understanding regarding the border and ceasefires, in response to the Indian action on the Indus treaty.
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