Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted the war in Ukraine to be resolved peacefully and "quickly" as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the annual BRICS summit on Tuesday.
The three-day gathering, held in the Tatarstan capital of Kazan, is the biggest international event to take place in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Putin hopes to project the alliance as a counterweight to Western "hegemony."
"We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Modi told Putin after the two shook hands and embraced. "We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability."
Putin, in his turn, hailed what he called Russia and India's "privileged strategic partnership" and vowed to build ties further.
New Delhi has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the full-scale war broke out in Ukraine, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Russia's invasion.
Modi visited Kyiv in August and Moscow in July in an effort to encourage peace talks between the two warring sides.
Some two dozen other leaders are expected to attend the BRICS summit this week, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The main issues on the agenda include Putin's idea for a BRICS-led payment system to rival the SWIFT international payment system and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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