SAMARKAND, Sep 16 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now "is not a time for war" on Friday (Sep 16) on the sidelines of a regional summit.

New Delhi and Moscow have longstanding ties dating back to the Cold War, and Russia remains by far India's biggest arms supplier.

But in their first face-to-face meeting since Moscow's forces invaded Ukraine in February, Modi told Putin, "Excellency, I know today's time is not a time for war".

India has shied away from explicitly condemning Russia for the invasion, which sent the price of oil and other commodities soaring.

But he stressed the importance of "democracy and diplomacy and dialogue" in the meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, footage showed on Indian public service broadcaster Doordashan.

They would discuss "how to move forward on the path of peace", Modi added.

The SCO summit comes as Russian forces face major battlefield setbacks in Ukraine, and represented an opportunity for Putin to show his country had not been fully isolated despite Western efforts.

"I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns ... We will do our best to end this as soon as possible", Putin told Modi.

But he added that Ukraine's leadership had rejected negotiations "and stated that it wants to achieve its goals by military means, on the battlefield".

On Thursday, Putin met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and acknowledged that his key ally Beijing also had "concerns" over the conflict.