Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken his silence on the US-backed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying Moscow is ready for serious discussions on the draft proposal.
Putin said the outline of a new peace plan reached by the US and Ukraine could form the basis of an agreement ending the nearly four-year conflict.
Moscow sees the plan as a starting point, with the US said to be taking into account Russia's position on the proposed peace settlement. US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week for further talks.
This is the first time Putin has spoken openly about the peace plan in recent days, after reports of a 28-point US-Russian plan that appears to favor Russia's demands.
Ukraine and its European allies are reportedly amending the plan to include counter-proposals discussed in Geneva over the weekend.
The current draft has now been whittled down to 19 main proposals, which have reportedly received tentative support from Ukraine. The ball is now in Russia's court to decide whether the framework is accepted and built into a formal agreement.
Some Kremlin officials have sounded a cautious note. Putin's close aide, Yuri Ushakov, said Russia had seen only an unofficial version of the plan and stressed that some aspects needed further analysis.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov welcomed the US efforts but insisted that no concessions would be made on the core issue of Ukraine.
Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, warned that it was too early to draw conclusions about an end to the war. Putin also stressed that the fighting would only stop if Ukrainian troops withdrew from their main positions.
Otherwise, Russian forces would continue the operation until they achieved their objectives, including full control of the eastern Donbas region, which was one of Moscow's main demands in the initial peace plan.
