Russia ready for dialogue with Ukraine: Kremlin

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his readiness for dialogue with Ukraine, and that an aborted 2022 peace deal could serve as the basis for resuming the negotiation, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

In a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin noted that Moscow is in favor of resuming negotiations, but such talks must not be aimed at "imposing any schemes that have nothing to do with reality."

Peskov said the "Istanbul agreements", a draft peace pact reached in March 2022 between Russia and Ukraine, could serve as the basis for resuming talks, despite that there have been many changes since then.

He said the Kremlin does not feel the Ukrainian side is ready for negotiations with Russia.