Modi confronts Putin and tells him to 'move from endless war to the end of war'
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been told by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to halt his war in Ukraine.
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The world leaders met at the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
The SCO summit brings together Russia, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, central Asian nations and Belarus.
Modi told Putin: "We need to move from an endless war to the end of the war."
Putin replied: "Thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister. We are moving in that direction." After slapping down his ear piece which was used to hear a translation of Modi's words.
Modi added: "Every day of war sets the humanity back, whereas every step taken towards peace fills the humanity with new hope and enthusiasm."
He said peace was "crucial for the well-being of humanity."
"A peaceful resolution to all issues at the earliest is the call of humanity, and this is India's message.
"The land of Gandhi and Buddha shares a single message: the path of peace."
India is backing every peace effort to end the war in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported.
Britain meanwhile has ramped up pressure on shadow financial systems underpinning Russia's war economy, doubling penalties for sanctions breaches, the UK Treasury said yesterday.
"We are ramping up the economic pressure on Putin and leaving those aiding his illegal war with nowhere to hide," Chancellor John Healey said in a statement released as he attends his first G20 in North Carolina.
European finance ministers and officials have bristled over the United States' move to invite Russia to participate in the summit as Moscow's war against Ukraine continues.
"The UK and our allies must step up our international cooperation to expose sanctions evasion, and disrupt the financial networks fuelling Russia's aggression," Mr Healey said.
He doubled the maximum fine available to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to 100% from 50% of the value of a sanctions breach.
The UK National Crime Agency also issued a nationwide alert targeting the Kremlin-backed A7 network, which the British government has said was used to route funds, finance procurement and exploit foreign banking systems to evade restrictions.
The alert aims to support the private sector in bearing down on sanctions evasion and ensure Russia pays the full cost of the sanctions, the UK Treasury said.
The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government's latest actions.
Britain had in May targeted Russia-linked cryptocurrency platforms, banks and financial networks that it said were used to bypass sanctions, freezing their assets and barring UK firms from processing payments and holding correspondent banking ties.