Russia says it is ready to consider new proposals on Ukraine

Russia says it is ready to consider new proposals on Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with News.ru that the country is ready to hear new proposals on ending the war in Ukraine.

According to him, "the Russian Federation is ready to listen to any reasonable proposals and ideas that meet the goals set by the president and take into account the real situation on the ground."

Ryabkov noted that the United States has shown "some understanding" of Russia's position in previous talks. Now, in his opinion, it is important to see how much Washington can influence the decisions of Kiev and European countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the Donbass region, abandon its membership in NATO, and reduce its military potential in order to stop the fighting. However, Ukraine did not accept some of these demands, including the transfer of Donbass, reduction of the army and refusal to join NATO.

Several rounds of US-brokered talks earlier this year failed to reach an agreement. The next meetings scheduled for March were canceled after the US and Israeli war on Iran began.

The negotiations were mediated by US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The Kremlin said on August 20 that there was no new information about their next visit to Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that he expected US mediators to return to the talks, noting that "new approaches" were needed in some areas. Ukraine presented its proposals to the US side on August 11.

Fighting continues on the front line. Russia now controls about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory.

On August 19, Russian airstrikes on Kiev and other areas killed at least 17 people and injured more than 40. Ukraine said it had struck a Russian oil refinery in the Perm region and a military airfield in the Volgograd region with drones.