MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to send a Russian delegation to the Belarusian capital of Minsk for talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The Russian team will include representatives from the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Presidential Administration, Peskov said,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky  reportedly said in a televised address earlier on Friday that he wants to hold talks with Russia over its military action.

The objective of Russia's operation, is to "assist the 'Luhansk People's Republic' and the 'Donetsk People's Republic,' including by demilitarising and denazifying Ukraine, which is an integral part of the issue for Ukraine's neutral status, the Kremlin spokesman said." Putin also spoke by phone with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, promising to provide the essential circumstances for Russia-Ukraine talks.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said during a press conference that his country has no plans to occupy Ukraine and that Moscow is ready to begin negotiations as soon as Ukrainian forces "laid down their arms." According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, Russian soldiers have blockaded the Ukrainian capital of Kiev from the west and are continuing to undertake duties in the territories of neighbouring cities.

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