Samarkand, September 16 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying "today's era is not of war" even as he called for finding ways to address the global food and energy security crisis.

Modi also underlined the importance of democracy, dialogue and diplomacy during a bilateral meeting with Putin that took place on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in this Silk Road city.

"Today the biggest worry before the world, especially developing countries, is food security, fuel security, fertilisers. We must find ways on these problems and you will also have to consider it. We will get an opportunity to talk about these issues," Modi said in his opening remarks.

The prime minister also recalled his phone conversations with Putin after the start of conflict in Ukraine.

"I know today's era is not of war. We discussed this issue with you on phone several times, that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world. We will have the opportunity to talk today about how we can move forward on the road of peace in the coming days," Modi said.

On his part, Putin told Modi that he was aware of India's concerns over the Ukraine conflict and that Russia will do everything possible to end it as soon as possible.

"I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine. I know about your concerns. I know that you share these concerns and we all want an end to all of these as soon as possible," Putin said in his televised opening remarks at the meeting.

The Russian President said Ukraine has refused to engage in the negotiation process and it wants to achieve its "objectives on the battlefield militarily."

"We will keep you abreast of everything that is happening over there," Putin conveyed to Modi.

Following the meeting, Modi described the talks as "wonderful".

"Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues," he tweeted.

In his opening remarks, President Putin said the ties between India and Russia continued to develop "very rapidly" and both sides are actively engaged at international platforms on key issues.

"It is important that we constantly coordinate our positions," he said.

Putin also referred to increase in bilateral trade turnover.

"The trade turnover is growing, in particular due to the supplies, as you asked to do, of additional deliveries of Russian fertilizers to the Indian market," Putin said.

"Deliveries of fertilizers from Russia to India have increased by more than eight times," he added.

The prime minister said he is thankful to Russia and Ukraine for facilitating rescue of Indian students from various areas of Ukraine in the initial phase of the conflict.

"I would like to thank Ukraine and you because in the initial days of this crisis, thousands of our students were stuck in Ukraine. We managed to get our students safely out of Ukraine with help from you and Ukraine. I am thankful to both the countries," he said.

The prime minister said ties between India and Russia have strengthened manifold and New Delhi values its relationship with Moscow.

"Ties between India and Russia have grown manifold. We give importance to the relationship as we have been friends who have stayed together for many decades and the world knows what Russia's relations with India have been and what India's relationship with Russia have been. The world knows that this is an unbreakable friendship," Modi said.

In his remarks, Putin also talked about his "warm memories" of visiting India in December last year and invited Modi to visit Russia.

Putin also greeted Modi for his birthday on Saturday.

"I also know that tomorrow, my dear friend, you are about to celebrate your birthday. As part of Russian tradition we never offer congratulations in advance. So I cannot do that right now...we wish all the very best to the friendly Indian nation and we wish prosperity to India under your leadership," he said.

In a tweet, the prime minister's office described the talks as "productive".

"The two leaders had productive discussions on a wide range of subjects aimed at further strengthening India-Russia ties," it said on Twitter.

In the last few months, India has increased the import of discounted crude oil from Russia notwithstanding increasing disquiet over it by several Western powers.

India's crude oil imports from Russia have jumped over 50 times since April and now it makes up for 10 per cent of all crude bought from overseas.

Last month, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said Russia appreciates India for not supporting attempts to isolate it in multilateral forums and that bilateral trade between the two countries is on an upswing.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

Indian economy expected to grow by 7.5 
per cent this year: PM at SCO summit 

Samarkand, September 16 (PTI) Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent this year and it will be the highest among the world's largest economies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday.

In his address at the summit in this historical Uzbek city, the prime minister also said India is making progress to become a manufacturing hub while highlighting various aspects of the country's economy.

"We are making progress on making India a manufacturing hub. India's young and talented workforce makes us naturally competitive," he said.

"India's economy is expected to grow by 7.5 per cent this year, which will be the highest among the world's largest economies," Modi said.

The prime minister made the remarks in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders of the influential bloc.

"We are supporting innovation in every sector. Today, there are more than 70,000 Start-ups in India, of which more than 100 are unicorns. Our experience can also be useful for many other SCO members," he said.

"For this purpose, we are ready to share our experience with SCO member countries by establishing a new Special Working Group on Start-ups and Innovation," he said.

Modi said India is putting a lot of focus on the proper use of technology in the people-centric development model.

India still remains among the fastest growing economies.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expected the economy to grow 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year.

Fitch Ratings on Thursday slashed its projection of India's economic growth to 7 per cent for current fiscal year, citing elevated inflation levels and higher interest rates.

Fitch, which had in June projected India's GDP to grow by 7.8 per cent in 2022-23, also forecast a slowdown in growth to 6.7 per cent in FY24 from its earlier estimate of 7.4 per cent.

The summit of the eight-nation influential grouping took place amid the growing geo-political turmoil largely triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's aggressive military posturing in the Taiwan Strait.

In his address, Modi also talked about the need for the SCO to develop reliable and resilient supply chains to offset disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Over the years, it has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations. India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.