Russia says open to direct discussions with Ukraine

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on Monday bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time since the early days of the conflict, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was eager to discuss a halt to attacks on civilian targets.

Speaking to a state TV reporter, Putin said fighting had resumed after the 30-hour Easter ceasefire, which he had announced unilaterally on Saturday. And Moscow, he said, was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv.

"We have always talked about this, that we have a positive attitude toward any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted later by Interfax news agency, told reporters, "When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side."

There have been no direct talks between the two sides since the early weeks after Russia's February 2022 special military operation.

While Zelensky did not respond directly to Putin's proposal, he emphasized in his nightly video address that Ukraine "was ready for any conversation" about a ceasefire that would stop strikes on civilians.

He said Ukraine stood by its proposal for an end to attacks on civilian targets and was ready for any form of discussion to achieve it. Previously, the United States and Ukraine had framed this as a 30-day ceasefire.

"Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow," Zelensky said. "We are ready for any conversation about how to achieve this."

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to consider the Ukrainian proposal for a halt to attacks by both sides on each other's civilian infrastructure.

Peskov said it was a complex topic that Putin was ready to discuss. However, he also told reporters there were no concrete plans at the moment for talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The two countries have said they are open to further ceasefires after the Easter truce over the weekend. Each side accused the other of violating it.

Wednesday meeting

Meanwhile, Ukraine will take part in talks with the US and European countries in London on Wednesday, Zelensky said. The discussions are a follow-up to a Paris meeting last week where the US and European countries discussed ways to end the more than three-year-old conflict.

The primary task of the London talks is "to push for an unconditional ceasefire", which must be "the starting point", he said.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said on Friday that if no progress, then Washington could abandon the peace talks within days. Trump struck a more optimistic note on Sunday, saying that "hopefully" the two sides would make a deal "this week".

Agencies via Xinhua