“This is a new statement. We have taken note of it. It looks like a positive development,” he said, referring to comments made by Zelenskiy in the early hours of Thursday.

Peskov said he could not comment on whether talks would take place between Putin and Zelenskiy.

Saying that Moscow would analyse Zelenskiy’s offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow’s expectations of Kyiv remained unchanged. Moscow has long demanded guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO or allow the bloc to deploy troops and weapons on its territory.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, with heavy fighting reported in Ukraine’s northern, eastern and southern regions and Russian forces taking positions close to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)