India wants peace: Rajnath on Russia-Ukraine dispute

Stressing that India stands for peace, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Russia-Ukraine dispute should be resolved through talks.

On the sidelines of an election meeting at Banshi Bazar in Ballia, Singh said "As per information received, the US president has said that they are ready to hold talks with the Russian president."

"The US president has taken some initiative on his behalf. India wants peace to be established in any way. We are sure that when talks take place, some way or the other will come out," Singh said.

When asked about India's stance, he said, "We want peace. We have always been in favour of world peace."

India has called for restraint on all sides as tensions between Russia and NATO escalated further after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognised the independence of two states of Ukraine.

Earlier, Russia had amassed it troops near the Ukraine border and has been demanding that NATO never admit Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations as members and the military alliance roll back troop deployments in former Soviet bloc nations.

At a UN Security Council meeting following the Russian decision, India voiced concern over the escalating tension along the Russia-Ukraine border and called for de-escalation of the situation and resolution of the crisis through diplomatic dialogue.