PM Modi helped stop Putin from using nukes in Ukraine, claims Polish minister
Poland's deputy foreign minister said PM Modi helped dissuade Vladimir Putin from using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine in late 2022. He said Modi remains among the few leaders able to influence Putin.
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, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski claimed.
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.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a very well-known world statesman, who is very respected. India has a long-standing relationship with the Russian Federation and, before that, with the Soviet Union. 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.
The remarks put the spotlight back on PM Modi's diplomatic outreach in Ukraine war that is now in its fourth year. In September 2022, the Prime Minister famously told Putin that "today's era is not of war" during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan.
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. India has argued that its purchases are driven by energy security and national interest.
Putin, meanwhile, last month described India as a "great country" and defended New Delhi's independent foreign policy.
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. Poland still maintains contact with Iran... We informed them that our preferred solution is a diplomatic one. So we do the same thing as Prime Minister Modi. We try to talk reason, but to moderate effect, I would say," Bartoszewski said.
The Polish minister also reiterated Warsaw's backing for India's long-standing bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
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, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski claimed.
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.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a very well-known world statesman, who is very respected. India has a long-standing relationship with the Russian Federation and, before that, with the Soviet Union. 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.
The remarks put the spotlight back on PM Modi's diplomatic outreach in Ukraine war that is now in its fourth year. In September 2022, the Prime Minister famously told Putin that "today's era is not of war" during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan.
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. India has argued that its purchases are driven by energy security and national interest.
Putin, meanwhile, last month described India as a "great country" and defended New Delhi's independent foreign policy.
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. Poland still maintains contact with Iran... We informed them that our preferred solution is a diplomatic one. So we do the same thing as Prime Minister Modi. We try to talk reason, but to moderate effect, I would say," Bartoszewski said.
The Polish minister also reiterated Warsaw's backing for India's long-standing bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
