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Putin dials PM Modi, says Pahalgam attack culprits must face justice

Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his condolences to the families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims and extended full support to India in its fight against terrorism New Delhi Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and strongly condemned the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, where 25 tourists and one local resident were shot dead on April 22. He underlined the need to bring the "perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters" to justice. Putin conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims and extended full support to India in its fight against terrorism. 'President Putin @KremlinRussia_E called PM @narendramodi and strongly condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam, India. He conveyed deepest condolences on the loss of innocent lives and expressed full support to India in the fight against terrorism. He emphasised that the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice,' said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X (formerly Twitter). During the conversation, the two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership between India and Russia. Prime Minister Modi congratulated President Putin on the upcoming celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day and invited him to the Annual India-Russia Summit scheduled to be held later this year, which Putin accepted. The timing of Putin's call is significant as it comes days after Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested in an interview with Russian state-run RIA Novosti that Russia, China, or Western countries could be involved in investigating the Pahalgam attack. Russian foreign minister calls for restraint Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urging both India and Pakistan to show restraint amid heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations. Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with Lavrov, according to a statement by the Foreign Office. Lavrov expressed concern over the situation and stressed the importance of diplomacy to resolve issues.