Moscow confirms interest in negotiations with Kiev

The Kremlin has confirmed its interest in a third round of negotiations proposed by Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, between Mosco and Kiev to end the war.

At the previous meeting, both sides exchanged their position papers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Peskov said that an exchange of views and negotiations are now pending, but completely opposing so far.

He added that great diplomatic work was still needed.

On Saturday, Zelensky had proposed a meeting to take place later this week, with no finalised date yet.

Peskov said that there were no changes on the Russian side regarding the composition of the delegation.

In the previous two rounds of talks in Istanbul, Russia’s chief negotiator was the presidential adviser and former Culture Minister to Vladimir Medinsky.

In May, Kiev and Moscow held bilateral negotiations for the first time in three years.

At this meeting and a later one in June in Istanbul, both sides agreed on a large prisoner exchange and the return of fallen soldiers.

However, steps towards ending the war against Ukraine, ordered by Russian President,Vladimir Putin in February 2022, were not discussed, says a Russian agency.