Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated. He added that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has assured Vladimir Putin that Minsk was ready to create conditions for talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness to discuss a “neutral status” for his country with Russia, at the same time demanding security guarantees. Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian delegation would include representatives of the ministries of defence and of foreign affairs, as well as of the presidential administration. He went on to lay emphasis on President Putin’s position that the operation was for the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine. According to Peskov, this is an integral part of the neutral status, BNR’s correspondent in Moscow Angel Grigorov reports. 

The news from the Kremlin came after Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping who stated that the Chinese side upholds the position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.