Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov speaks to the media, in New Delhi, on September 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
A week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for an end to the Ukraine-Russia war on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in a virtual press interaction with the Indian media on Tuesday (September 8, 2026), said that both India and Russia want a peaceful end to the war that has continued for more than four and a half years. Mr. Peskov provided a positive outlook for the upcoming BRICS Summit, to be held in New Delhi on September 12-13, and announced that President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the summit, and welcomed India’s contribution to end the war.
“We know the position of India on the Ukrainian conflict, and to a great extent, it corresponds with our own position, because we do want the solution of the Ukrainian conflict by peaceful means, and Russia is open to this process,” Mr. Peskov said, adding, “We welcome the willingness of the Indian side to contribute.”
Mr. Peskov noted that there are Indian citizens who are on the front lines with Ukraine, saying that Russia has asked for a list of such individuals, whom India claims were fraudulently lured to fight in Ukraine on Russia’s behalf. “They will be sent back,” Mr. Peskov said. The Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) said that there are around 24 Indian citizens who continue to remain in the Russian armed forces and are engaged in the Russia-Ukraine frontlines.
Mr. Peskov said Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin will meet on Friday (September 11, 2026) ahead of the BRICS Summit, and added, “Like always, they will touch on the bilateral agenda. Trade and economic cooperation have a very wide scope.” He referred to the challenges of sanctions from the U.S. for Indian energy purchases from Russia. “You know that lots of issues cannot be discussed publicly, having some unfriendly countries that are trying to put obstacles in the way of further development of our cooperation. So, it is being discussed discreetly, but in a very, very constructive manner,” Mr. Peskov said.
India has been arguing that the purchase of Russian oil is a policy that is taken in light of the energy requirements of the Indian people. Mr. Peskov exuded confidence about an increase in the bilateral energy trade. “I won’t give you a figure. Every month we have a new record,” he said. He referred to the U.S.’s Russia Sanctions Bill, which seeks to impose sanctions on countries that do energy trade with Russia, as “illegal, unfair, unacceptable”.
On the expectations and challenges ahead of the BRICS Summit that will be chaired by India this time, Mr. Peskov said that BRICS is not “anti-Western”, and that it is a grouping of countries that share an outlook. He further confirmed that President Putin will meet Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the summit. Earlier, in May 2026, big differences between Iran and the UAE had prevented the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting from coming out with a joint statement, and there are lingering feelings that these differences could hamper a joint statement at the summit. Mr. Peskov referred to hostilities between Iran and the UAE, saying Russia is a “good friend” of both countries, and that Moscow is ready to contribute in normalisation of ties, if necessary.
Published – September 08, 2026 04:49 pm IST
