French President Macron dials PM Modi; Leaders call for urgent need to restore safety in Strait of Hormuz

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on a telephonic call on Thursday. They discussed the ongoing situation of the West Asia conflict, and agreed on an urgent need to restore safety and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The call was initiated by President Macron.

In a post on X about his conversation with Macron, Prime Minister Modi also said, "We will continue our close cooperation to advance peace and stability in the region and beyond." On March 5, Modi and Macron had spoken over the phone, and discussed their "shared concerns" over the evolving situation in West Asia, and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy.

The conflict in West Asia has now stretched to nearly 50 days.

"Received a phone call from my dear friend President Emmanuel Macron. We discussed the situation in West Asia and agreed on the need to urgently restore safety and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We will continue our close cooperation to advance peace and stability in the region and beyond,” Modi said in the post.

India has consistently maintained that de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward to bring the conflict in West Asia to an end.

At an inter-ministerial briefing on the West Asia situation on Wednesday, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, had said that India's diplomatic engagement in the context of the conflict continues.

He also shared broader contours of the telephonic conversation between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday.

The West Asia situation was discussed during the conversation, he said.

Prime Minister Modi has spoken with many world leaders since the conflict began on February 28, when the US-Israel combine conducted military strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate by attacking the Gulf countries hosting American bases.

Amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, India on Wednesday made a strong pitch for safe and unimpeded transit of merchant vessels, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserting that attacks on merchant ships were "completely unacceptable”.

Global oil and gas prices surged after Iran restricted the transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG trade.

(With PTI inputs)