Vladimir Putin says a draft US-Ukraine peace plan could become the basis of a future agreement to end the almost four-year-old conflict.
There have been renewed diplomatic efforts between the US, Ukraine and European NATO members to broker a deal, following the Trump administration putting forward proposals to end Russia's invasion.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyrgyzstan, Mr Putin suggested he was open to developing a new agreement, before adding Russia would continue fighting if no deal was struck.
"In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements," Mr Putin said, adding that the variant of the plan discussed by the United States and Ukraine in Geneva had been passed to Russia.
The Russian president said that the United States was taking into account the Kremlin's position but that some things still needed to be discussed.
He said that if Europe wanted a pledge not to attack it, then Russia was willing to give such a pledge.
Russia, Mr Putin said, was still being told it should cease the fighting.
"Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease. If they don't leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That's it," Mr Putin said.
“We need to sit down and discuss this seriously."
He added that Russian forces were advancing in Ukraine at a faster pace.
Mr Putin said that he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Ukraine.
He said it was important to ensure any agreement was recognised by the international community, and that the international community recognised Russian gains in Ukraine.
And Mr Putin also rejected the suggestion that US envoy Steve Witkoff had shown himself to be biased towards Moscow in peace talks over Ukraine, describing it as nonsense.
Work on peace plan continues, Kyiv says
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and US officials are to continue work on a US-backed peace plan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff said on Thursday.
"At the end of this week, the joint work of the Ukrainian and American delegations will continue to develop the result achieved in Geneva," Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"It is important not to lose productivity and to work quickly."
On Thursday, Ukrainian troops blocked attempts by Russian forces to stage new assaults on the embattled eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, Kyiv's top general said.
In a statement on Facebook, Oleksandr Syrskyi added that Russia had been forced to deploy reserve forces for its operations there.
But at his press conference, Mr Putin said Russian forces had now "completely surrounded" the city and the neighbouring town of Myrnohrad.
He said Russia now controlled 70 per cent of Pokrovsk's territory.
"[Ukraine's army] is scattered throughout the city. And our troops are moving onto its systematic destruction," he said.
Even after a peace agreement, Ukraine would need strong armed forces and security guarantees, and no territorial concessions should be forced on the country, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
"We view the efforts of the US government to find a solution here very positively," Mr Merz said at a press conference.
"However, we also say that the security interests of Europeans and also the security interests of Ukraine must be safeguarded."
Reuters/AP
