War in Ukraine: Russia grateful for concern expressed by PM Modi, says Vladimir Putin

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was grateful for the concern expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the war in Ukraine.

Asked at a media interaction here whether he saw a role for India in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine, he referred to his interactions with Modi, whom he described as a “friend”, and said his country was grateful for this.

Putin said it was difficult to specify a timeline on ending the war, and setting one will be difficult and counterproductive.

The Russian leader blamed America and NATO for pushing Russia into the war, and said his country will prevail.

He said the Russian army has become one of the most combat effective and high-tech armies in the world, and NATO will get tired of “waging this war against us”.

“We will have the upper hand. We'll win. We'll prevail,” he said through an interpreter to the select group of foreign journalists.

The Russian leader expressed willingness to negotiate peace and accused Ukraine of backing out from earlier efforts.

In his remarks a few weeks earlier, Putin had identified India, China and Brazil as the countries with which Russia was in touch to on the issue.