Pahalgam attack: Vladimir Putin dials PM Modi, expresses ‘full support’ to India

Russian President Valdimir Putin spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on Monday and expressed Moscow’s full support to India in its fight against terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

 

Putin emphasised that the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice. Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed as terrorists sprayed bullets at them after verifying their religious identity in the scenic valley of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.

 

The talks between Modi and Putin assumes significance as it came shortly after Pakistan sought Moscow’s intervention to defuse the tension.

 

"President Putin @KremlinRussia_E called PM @narendramodi and strongly condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.

 

Jaiswal said Putin conveyed deepest condolences on the loss of innocent lives and expressed full support to India in the fight against terrorism. 

 

During their talks, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to further deepen 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 MEA sportsperson said.

 

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to External Affairs Minister and urged both India and Pakistan to resolve their disagreements through direct political and diplomatic engagement.

 

The deadly attack on civilians in Pahalgam has brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a war with New Delhi alleging cross-border linkage to the incident.

 

New Delhi has already taken a slew of punitive actions against Islamabad including suspension of Indus Water Treaty and bilateral trade. India has also closed the land border crossing at Attari and cancelled short-term visas granted to Pakistani nationals.

India