Putin is ready to send a delegation to negotiate with Ukraine

The President Vladimir Putin is willing to send a delegation to Minskcapital of your ally Belarusto bring about negotiations with Ukrainea country in which it launched an invasion on Thursday, its spokesman said on Friday.

“Vladimir Putin is willing to send a high-level Russian delegation” to Minsk for “negotiations with a Ukrainian delegation,” Dmitri Peskov told Russian agencies.

Minsk was already the city in which talks and peace agreements were previously held between the two countries.

Belarus has also served as a staging point for Russian troops entering Ukraine since Thursday bound for Kyiv.

(Also read: Ukraine reports increased radiation in Chernobyl after arrival of Russians)

Until now, the Russian government has refused to engage in negotiations with Ukraine, despite repeated demands by President Volodymyr Zelensky before the Russian invasion began.

Zelenski had said, hours before the offensive began, that he had tried in vain to talk to Putin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Russia was ready to negotiate if Ukraine “lay down its arms.”

AFP