Russia's Medvedev says standoff with West to last decades, Ukraine conflict 'permanent'

FILE PHOTO: Russia's Deputy head of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev inspects arms production as he visits the Aleksinsky Experimental Mechanical Plant in the town of Aleksin in the Tula region, Russia, June 15, 2023. Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president, has warned that Moscow's confrontation with the West will last decades and that its conflict with Ukraine could become permanent.

Medvedev, once seen in the West as a liberal moderniser, has emerged as one of Russia's most outspoken hawks since Moscow launched what it called a "special military operation" in Ukraine last year.