Russian Foreign Ministry: Russia is ready for negotiations with Ukraine on the basis of the Istanbul treaty

Moscow is ready to hold peace talks with Kiev on the basis of the Istanbul agreements of 2022, the head of the second department of the CIS countries of the Foreign Ministry, Alexei Polishchuk, said in an interview with TASS.

"The Russian side is open to realistic proposals and is ready for a serious conversation. As has been repeatedly noted, a peaceful settlement is possible on the basis of the Istanbul document of 2022," he said.

According to Polishchuk, before the start of a peaceful settlement, the issue of the legitimacy of Vladimir Zelensky and the decree banning negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who entered the Ukraine will enter into force in the fall of 2022.

After the outbreak of hostilities on In Ukraine, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations held several rounds of talks in Belarus and Turkey.

The head of the Russian negotiators, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, stated that the parties had made progress. Kiev, among other things, offered the neutral status of Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees, he said. However, in May 2022, negotiations were suspended after the publication of footage from Bucha.

Earlier, Putin said that although Moscow considers Vladimir Zelensky to be the illegitimate leader of Ukraine, Russia is ready to negotiate with "anyone" if they have Ukraine has such a desire. According to him, Zelensky's term of office expired in May 2024, and he has no right to sign documents.

The President also noted that negotiations are complicated by the decree adopted in Kiev, which prohibits negotiations with Putin while he is the head of state. The president considered it a legal trap.

Putin also noted that he was ready to meet with Zelensky in the spring of 2022 at the suggestion of the Ukrainian side.