Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast, reiterated his call for diplomacy to resolve the war in Ukraine, telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that “this is not the time for war” while advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that battlefield victories will not lead to a lasting resolution.

Mr Fridman, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2015, is the host of The Lex Fridman Podcast on YouTube. Mr Fridman’s channel has over 4.5 million subscribers and close to 820 million views.

Speaking on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said he has close ties with both countries.

“I have a close relationship with Russia and Ukraine alike,” he said. “I can sit with President Putin and say that this is not the time for war. And I can also tell President Zelensky, 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.”

“Ukraine may hold countless discussions with their allies, but it will bear no fruit. Discussions must include both parties instead,” he added.

The Kremlin confirmed today that Russia and the United States had discussed the “next steps” to end the war, following renewed diplomatic efforts. Hours earlier, Kyiv’s European allies had urged Moscow to commit to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. The United States had pushed for the ceasefire after talks in Saudi Arabia, which Ukraine accepted.

Speaking on the latest developments, PM Modi said: “Initially, it was challenging to find peace, but now, the current situation presents an opportunity for meaningful and productive talks between Ukraine and Russia. There has been a lot of suffering. Even the Global South has suffered.”

President Putin has so far refrained from agreeing to the proposal, listing a series of conditions and raising what he called “serious questions” about the initiative.

Zelensky accused Moscow of delaying peace efforts, saying, “The Kremlin does not want to end the war. They want to first improve their situation on the battlefield before agreeing to any ceasefire.”

The Russian foreign ministry confirmed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to Moscow, the two discussed “concrete aspects of the implementation of understandings” reached at a US.-Russia summit in Saudi Arabia last month.