On Thursday, Putin also said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them, India said on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv under the shadow of the raging war.
Modi will travel to Poland before visiting Ukraine.
Ukrania tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva's home town of Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Moscow forces since the early days of the invasion, which Russia calls a special military operation.
A peace keeping role for India is a distinct possibility. Indian military has both the numbers and experience to carry out this job, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
In the talks, Putin hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia's Kazan next month to attend the annual BRICS summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said he looks forward to visiting India as it can be a 'key' in the global diplomatic efforts to end the war between his country and Russia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply concerned by the war in Ukraine and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York demonstrates his commitment to finding a way forward and contributing in any way possible to a resolution of the conflict, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Russia attacked Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, with missiles and drones on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Some of Russia's latest weapons were used in the savage attack.
"We are waiting for our good friend Modi and best regards to him," the Russian media quoted Putin as saying in the meeting with Doval.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday briefed US President Joe Biden in a phone conversation on his visit to Ukraine and conveyed India's full support for the early return of peace to the region through dialogue and diplomacy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit India and the Ukrainian leader said he would be happy to travel to the 'great' country.
India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
At least 488 Ukrainian athletes and trainers have been killed since early 2022, around two dozen of whom had been European or world champions in their discipline, according to sports ministry spokesman Serhiy Bykov.
A ruthless Iga Swiatek slammed the door shut on German lucky loser Eva Lys with a 6-0 6-1 win on Monday to breeze into the quarter-finals of the year's opening Grand Slam for the second time.
Modi, who is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that he will share with the Ukrainian leader perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict.
The US is looking very carefully at what Modi did when he was in Moscow, a senior State Department official has told lawmakers concerned over the growing India-Russia ties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council that 'we have to prepare' the second peace summit to end the Russia-Ukraine war 'altogether' and he has invited India and other countries to join the peace process.
As the world continues to rage under the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the two presidential candidates in the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during the presidential debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday (local time), presented their views on ending the conflict and Washington, DC's role in it.
Ahead of his much-anticipated visit to conflict-torn Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield and it is ready to extend all possible cooperation for the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
Forward Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to allow Manchester United to come back from a goal down and get a 2-1 win at six-times Czech champions Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.
Modi in a post on X said the two leaders also discussed measures to further strengthen Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
Putin's remarks came within two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Ukraine where he held talks with President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Though he does not know what New Delhi is intending to do, Berlin would "welcome any engagement", he added.
Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova will pay a four-day visit to India from Sunday, the first official visit from the East European country since the Russian invasion began last year.
The White House readout of the call had no reference to Bangladesh, which was mentioned in an 'X' post by PM Modi.
'Russia is aiming at demoralising Ukraine as a nation.' 'They want to bomb the infrastructure, the electric stations so that regular citizens will not to be able to live, to cook, to give comfort to their kids.'
Ukrainians hailed their women's sabre team for winning the country's first gold of the Paris Olympics
Putin said that the Indian leader had "aptly" noted that it is "not an anti-western one but a non-western one".
Putin expressed concern over the situation in Gaza, and said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been invited to BRICS events.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated India's commitment for an early resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and the restoration of peace and stability in the region.
India has been stoutly defending its "special and privileged strategic partnership" with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties notwithstanding the Ukraine conflict.
With these propositions in mind, India started "some exploratory discussions" he said, adding that it started during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Italy during G-7, and then during his visit to Moscow.
French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets even as he flagged concerns over a missile strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
In retrospect, it appeared that the bitterness of the war was still strong and the Ukrainian success in occupying Russian territory just a few days ago had added to the complexity of the situation. The positive US response to the visit, however, remains a silver lining in the dark clouds, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden will have a substantive engagement on the sidelines of the Quad summit on Saturday, and the two sides will sign at least two agreements following the talks.
400 days and more, Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues.
