Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Ukraine's leadership to resume direct talks in Istanbul on May 15.
This happened at a midnight press conference in the Kremlin, at which the Russian leader summarized the results of his meetings with foreign leaders during the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Hitler Germany.
"Russia is determined to hold serious talks with Ukraine, the goal of which is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict," Putin said.
On this occasion, the president said that he plans to hold a conversation with Turkish leader Recep Erdogan tomorrow.
Putin did not rule out a ceasefire agreement during the talks with Ukraine.
"The Russian side's proposal for negotiations is on the table, the decision is up to Kiev and its supporters. Russia has repeatedly taken steps towards dialogue with the Ukrainian side and has never refused this opportunity," the Russian leader said.
The president proposed resuming negotiations and said that those who want peace cannot but support them.
Putin expressed gratitude to foreign partners who are making efforts to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
"Russia has repeatedly presented ceasefire initiatives, but they were sabotaged by Ukraine. Kiev demonstratively violated the 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy facilities, which was in effect from March 18 to April 17, about 130 times. "Russia has conveyed to its Western colleagues its position on the announced three-day ceasefire during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory," Vladimir Putin said.
Russia did not rule out extending the three-day ceasefire in May, depending on Kiev's reaction.
"The Kiev regime violated the Easter truce almost 5,000 times, did not respond to the ceasefire proposed by Russia for Victory Day, and immediately launched large-scale attacks. During the days of the ceasefire, Ukraine made five targeted attempts to attack the state border of the Russian Federation in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The Russian military repelled all attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces during the three-day ceasefire. Ukraine suffered very heavy losses," Putin noted.
The Russian leader noted the "professionalism, courage and heroism" of of the DPRK soldiers who helped liberate the Kursk region.
"The leaders of some European countries came to celebrate Victory Day despite threats, blackmail and obstacles. The wide participation of foreign leaders in the celebrations in Moscow was an inspiring sign of consolidation around the values of the common victory," he emphasized.
"Sooner or later, relations between the Russian Federation and European countries will be restored," the head of state said.
The president called the talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping extremely fruitful. He confirmed that he would visit China in September this year.