Tianjin, Sep 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of SCO Summit on Monday and said that the close cooperation of both nations is important for the peace, prosperity and stability in the world.

Both leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the relations between the two nations and exchanged views on issues of regional and global importance.

The Prime Minister also welcomed the recent efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and said that the involved parties will have to proceed further "constructively."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, and I always request that every meeting with you becomes a memorable one. It provides an opportunity to exchange a lot of information. We remain in constant contact and have held several bilateral meetings," PM Modi said in his opening remarks during the meeting.

Putin is also scheduled to visit India in December.

The Prime Minister said that the 1.40 crore Indians are "eagerly waiting" for the Russian President's arrival for the 23rd India-Russia Summit in December.

"This is the definition of our deep, 'special and privileged strategic partnership'," PM Modi said.

Highlighting the strong bilateral relations between the two nations, he said, "In the most difficult times also, India and Russia have always walked shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Our close cooperation is not only important for the people of both countries but also for the peace, prosperity and stability in the world."

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said that India welcomes all the recent efforts in the direction of resolving the conflict.

"We hope that all the involved parties will proceed further constructively. We will have to figure out ways to end the conflict as soon as possible to restore the regional stability and peace. This is the call of the entire humanity," PM Modi added.

Earlier, both the leaders boarded the same car to the venue of the bilateral meeting.

In his opening remarks at the SCO Summit, Putin said that he highly valued the contributions of India and other strategic partners in facilitating a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

"We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and our other strategic partners, aimed at facilitating the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," Putin said, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

The Russian President also mentioned that "understandings" he reached with US President Donald Trump at a summit in August opened up path to peace in Ukraine.

"The understandings reached at the recent Russian-American summit in Alaska, I hope, are also moving in this direction, opening the way to peace in Ukraine," Putin said, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Earlier in the day, on the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi posted a photo with Russian President Putin, where the two leaders were seen shaking hands and hugging.

Sharing the picture on X, PM Modi wrote, "Always a delight to meet President Putin!"

PM Modi has consistently reiterated India's position for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict and New Delhi's support for all efforts in this regard.

Quite significantly, just as he arrived in China from Japan on Saturday, PM Modi received a call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, informing him about the negotiations with US President Donald Trump in Washington involving European leaders.

According to Zelensky, during the "productive, important conversation", India said that it is ready to make the necessary efforts and "convey the appropriate signal to Russia" and other leaders during meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

(IANS)

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