Russia is ready to consider any 'realistic' Ukraine peace initiative, says Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW - Russia is ready to consider any "realistic" peace initiative on the conflict in Ukraine which takes into account Russia's own interests and the situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"We are open to negotiations, we are ready to consider any realistic, non-politicised initiative - of course," Zakharova said, adding that Russia would only consider a settlement "which was based on taking into account our interests".

"I would like to emphasize once again: the key word is taking into account the interests of our country, the current situation on ground and guarantees of compliance with relevant agreements."

Reuters reported that Russia is open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Donald Trump but rules out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO. REUTERS