In a major breakthrough, Russian President Vladimir Putin showed readiness to initiate talks with Ukraine, with which it has been in a state of war since 2022, according to Reuters. Putin said China, India and Brazil could act as mediators in potential peace talks.
The President said a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the first weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, could serve as the basis for talks, Reuters reported.
"We understand who we are dealing with - with people who don't respect agreements," Putin said.
In July this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia to meet President Putin. The visit came two and half years after the conflict with Ukraine began and various topics including the war were discussed by the two leaders.
PM Modi also visited Ukraine in August and became the first Indian PM to visit the nation since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. During his visit, he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the two leaders discussed a wide range of topics, including peace, economic cooperation, culture, and defense.
Meanwhile, Putin confirmed that Russia is turning more and more towards the East, and moving away from the West. "Over a thousand agreements worth over 10.5 trillion rubles were signed at the last three Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)," he said.
Modi’s 'friendly' ties with Putin to help US-Ukraine-Russia peace efforts, says Kremlin
"More than 30 countries are showing readiness to join or cooperate with BRICS." Putin further said the West already understands that they made a mistake by pushing countries to abandon the dollar with their 'stupid' actions. As of now, Russia uses national currencies in 65 percent of settlements with BRICS partners, he said.
Putin also said that Ukraine's Kursk incursion was aimed at slowing the Russian advance in Donbas but that it had failed as Kyiv had simply weakened its forces along the rest of the front.
In the biggest foreign attack on Russian sovereign territory since World War Two, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers smashed through the Russian border on Aug. 6 aided with swarms of drones, heavy weaponry and artillery, some Western made.
Putin, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, said that Ukraine by transferring large and well-trained units into Russia, Ukraine had weakened itself and allowed Russia to accelerate the offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said it was Russia's "sacred duty" to expel the invaders and that Russian forces were starting to push out Ukrainian troops from Kursk.
He said that the Russian advance on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk was successful.
With inputs from Reuters
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