New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi played a pivotal role in persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin against using tactical nuclear weapons during the Ukraine war in late 2022. Speaking at a press conference after the India-Poland Joint Economic Commission meeting in New Delhi on Monday, Bartoszewski said PM Modi is one of the few world leaders whose counsel Putin takes seriously because of India’s decades-old strategic ties with Moscow.
President Putin actually pays attention to what Prime Minister Modi tells him,” Bartoszewski said. He went further, saying PM Modi had already demonstrated that influence at a critical moment in the Russia-Ukraine war. “I mentioned the role Prime Minister Modi played in stopping Putin from using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine at the end of 2022. Prime Minister Modi is one of the few people who can actually exert some pressure and influence on President Putin, and that is clearly something India could do to help stop this conflict,” he said.
India has since maintained its call for dialogue and diplomacy while refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia. PM Modi has also continued to engage with Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even meeting the latter in Kyiv in 2024 and on the sidelines of multilateral summits since. New Delhi has continued buying discounted Russian crude despite sustained pressure from the US and European allies to curb energy trade with Moscow.
Bartoszewski also endorsed India’s approach to the Iran war, where New Delhi has similarly balanced its strategic interests while urging restraint and diplomacy. India has condemned terrorism, backed de-escalation and dialogue, and sought to preserve stability in the Gulf, from where it imports the bulk of its crude oil. “Because you are a big country, an important country, and you benefit from free access to goods, including oil, and you depend very much on the oil and gas from the Gulf.
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