Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions, albeit on the basis of the Istanbul agreements and taking into account the realities on the ground, President Vladimir Putin said during his Q&A conference on December 19 in Moscow.
"As for conditions to start negotiations. We have no preconditions, we are ready to conduct dialogue without preconditions, but it should be based on what we agreed upon during the negotiation process in Istanbul at the end of 2022. It should also be based on the realities that are developing on the ground today," Putin said.
The final document should be signed only with the legitimate Ukrainian government, that is, with the Verkhovna Rada and the Chairman of the Rada (currently Ruslan Stefanchuk — ed.), Putin added.
In March 2022, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul. The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said at the time that the parties had made progress. Kyiv, among other things, agreed to Ukraine's neutral status in exchange for security guarantees, he said. However, the negotiations were suspended in May.