Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a telephonic conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and reviewed the progress made by the two countries in increasing bilateral cooperation in various sectors between them. In an 'X' post, the prime minister said the two leaders also discussed ways to end the war in Ukraine, which broke out in February 2022.
"Had a very good conversation with President Macron. We reviewed and positively assessed the progress in bilateral cooperation in various areas," PM Modi said. "Exchanged views on international and regional issues, including efforts for bringing an early end to the conflict in Ukraine. The India-France Strategic Partnership will continue to play a key role in fostering global peace and stability."
During the conversation, PM Modi also thanked Macron for accepting the invitation to the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in February 2026, and looked forward to welcoming the French President Macron to India. "Both leaders agreed to continue to remain in touch and work closely together to promote global peace and stability," said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement.
Second conversation in less than a month
Notably, this is the second conversation that the two leaders have held in the last one month. On August 21, Macron had dialled PM Modi and discussed ongoing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
It must be mentioned here that India has repeatedly pushed for a peaceful solution in Ukraine. During a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China's Tianjin, the Prime Minister had pushed for a peaceful solution and ceasing all hostilities in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy meets European allies in Paris
Meanwhile, Macron was among the European leaders whom Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Thursday in Paris. The meeting was held under the banner 'Coalition of the Willing', in which the European leaders discussed any intervention of European military in Ukraine, but only with the backing of the United States (US).
However, the US has not committed to providing any such backing. Meanwhile, the Russian side warned Europe over the meeting, saying it would not accept any 'foreign intervention' in Ukraine.
