Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Monday proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time since the early days of the war.
This was as his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was eager to discuss a halt to attacks on civilian targets.
Although Zelenskyy did not respond directly to Putin’s proposal, he stressed in his nightly video address that Ukraine was ready for any conversation about a ceasefire that would stop strikes on civilians.
The two leaders reportedly face pressure from the United States, which has threatened to walk away from its peace efforts unless some progress is achieved.
The two warring countries have expressed their openness to further ceasefires after a 30-hour Easter truce declared by Moscow at the weekend, although each side accused the other of violating it.
According to Zelenskyy, his country will take part in talks with the US and European countries on Wednesday in London.
The discussions are said to be a follow-up to a Paris meeting last week where the US and European states discussed ways to end the more than three-year-old war.
While speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin said fighting had resumed after the Easter ceasefire, which he announced unilaterally on Saturday, adding that Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv.
“We have always talked about this, that we have a positive attitude towards any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way,” Putin said.