Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to end the war in Ukraine, branding it a “tragedy”.
The Kremlin chief, who sent his troops into Ukraine last February, blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for the continued violence.
Both sides have lost thousands of soldiers on top of the many civilian deaths in Ukraine.
Putin is reportedly poised to use his speech at an upcoming G20 meeting to urge world leaders to work out a strategy for ending the war.
In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, the Russian president said: “Military actions are always a tragedy. And of course, we should think about how to stop this tragedy.
“By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky signed a decree in October 2022 declaring that peace talks between his country and Putin are “impossible”.
Putin has also discussed wider geopolitical issues, saying that economic activity around the world is moving toward Asia.
He added that Russia had shipped grain to Africa free of charge, and emphasised the country’s willingness to contribute to global climate and development goals.
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Western observers have suggested that Putin is trying to bring African countries into Russia’s sphere of influence.
Zelensky admitted on Wednesday that his troops face a “difficult” winter as Kyiv’s men look to defend against Russian attacks.
He said: “Difficult weather, difficult defence on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Donetsk and Avdiivka fronts.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky told The Sun that he has survived a number of assassination attempts from Russia.
He said: “The first one is very interesting when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid.
“First of all, people don’t know what to do with it and it’s looking very scary.
“And then after that, it is just intelligence sharing with you – detail that one more group came to Ukraine to (attempt) this.”
He also urged Western leaders to continue their support for Ukraine.
Zelensky added: “For some reason, people treat it like a movie and expect that there will be no long pauses in the events, that the picture before their eyes will always change, that there will be some surprises every day.
“But for us, for our warriors, this is not a movie. These are our lives. This is daily hard work. And it will not be over as quickly as we would like, but we have no right to give up and we will not.”
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