Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an open letter published on Thursday, after US-led efforts to mediate an end to the war stalled.
"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelensky wrote in the letter released by his office in Kiev.
He said the two leaders should discuss the war's "key issues" directly.
Zelensky ruled out both Kiev and Moscow as venues for the talks, suggesting instead Switzerland, Turkey or a country in the "Arab world" as possible locations.
The letter was published while Putin was holding a press conference with international journalists on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Putin said he was "prepared to reach an agreement with Ukraine," but reiterated his demand that Russia gain full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kiev has categorically rejected any territorial concessions.
As a first step towards peace, Zelensky proposed a ceasefire along the current front line to be monitored by the United States.
This could be followed by an "all-for-all exchange" of prisoners of war and the return of civilians and children whom Kiev says were taken from Ukraine during the war.
Zelensky also said representatives of Europe and the United States should participate in the negotiations and potentially act as guarantors of any agreement.
