The document will include conditions for a lasting comprehensive settlement of the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said

Russia will be ready to present its draft peace proposal to Ukraine by the time the two sides complete their latest military and civilian POWs swap, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Moscow is "actively working" on a document in line with what was agreed during the Istanbul talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators last week, according to the minister.

Preparing and presenting draft peace proposals was one of two major milestones achieved by Moscow and Kiev during the Istanbul meeting - the first direct negotiations between the two warring parties since 2022, when Ukraine unilaterally walked away from the negotiating table. The second was a major prisoner swap involving 1,000 POWs from each side, which started on Friday. Moscow and Kiev expect the exchange to continue over the weekend.

Russia's peace proposal would include "conditions for reaching a sustainable, lasting comprehensive agreement on the [peace] settlement," Lavrov said.

"As soon as the prisoner swap is over, we will be ready to hand over this draft document to the Ukrainian side," the minister told journalists on Friday, adding that the proposal is "currently being finalized."

(RT.com)