President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia was ready to hold a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, potentially in Istanbul, although the time and venue had yet to be agreed. Putin said there were big differences between the proposals submitted by the two sides at previous talks but expressed hope that continued dialogue would help narrow the gap.

Ukraine wants the next step in peace talks to be a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.