PM Modi convinced Putin to avoid nuclear weapons, says Polish minister

Clarifying his stance on the war, PM Modi asserted, "I have always maintained that I stand with peace. I am not neutral. I have a stance and that is peace." (News18)

Poland's deputy foreign minister and secretary of state, Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for persuading Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear weapons during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking to CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview on March 17, Bartoszewski said, "We had a great visit of PM Modi to Warsaw. PM Modi did persuade Putin not to use nuclear tactical weapons. We want permanent peace. We want stable and sustainable peace in Ukraine."

His comments follow PM Modi's recent remarks during a podcast with Lex Fridman, where he said that the path to peace in Ukraine is not through the battlefield but on the negotiation table, urging both warring nations to engage in talks to end the three-year-long war.

“I have a close relationship with Russia and Ukraine alike. I can sit with President Putin and say that this is not the time for war, and I can also tell President Zelenskyy in a friendly way that brother, regardless of how many people stand with you in the world, there will never be a resolution on the battlefield," Modi said in the podcast.

He added, "The resolution will only come when both Ukraine and Russia come to the negotiating table. Ukraine may hold countless discussions with their allies, but it will bear no fruit. Discussions must include both parties instead. Initially, it was challenging to find peace, but now the current situation presents an opportunity for meaningful and productive talks between Ukraine and Russia."

Clarifying his stance on the war, PM Modi asserted, "I have always maintained that I stand with peace. I am not neutral. I have a stance and that is peace."

Meanwhile, Bartoszewski reiterated Poland's support for Ukraine, emphasizing the country's ongoing efforts to assist the war-torn nation. "We have helped Ukraine since the very beginning of the war. We have thousands of migrants coming from Ukraine into Poland. We are ready to provide peacekeeping force and military support," he said.