Putin says Russia is ready to hold more talks with Ukraine, return more bodies

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia was ready to hold a new round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, potentially in Istanbul, although the time and venue had yet to be agreed.

Putin said there were big differences between the proposals submitted by the two sides at previous talks but expressed hope that continued dialogue would help narrow the gap.

Putin told reporters in Minsk that the two sides' negotiators were in constant contact. Russia was ready to return the bodies of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers, he said.

Russia, Ukraine peace proposals contradictory

Putin said that the peace proposals from Russia and Ukraine were "absolutely contradictory", but added that this was unsurprising and that the two sides were discussing a next round of talks.

"As for the memorandums, as expected, nothing surprising happened... these are two absolutely contradictory memorandums," he said at a press conference in Minsk, Belarus.

Putin says US-Russia relations stabilizing, credits Trump for progress

Putin said that relations between Russia and the United States were beginning to stabilize, attributing the improvement to efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Putin reiterated that he had "great respect" for Trump and was willing to meet him. Although such a meeting would require careful preparation, Putin said it was "quite possible".

"In general, thanks to President Trump, relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to level out in some ways," Putin told a press conference in Minsk.

"Not everything has been decided in the sphere of diplomatic relations, but the first steps have been taken and we are moving forward."

Russia ready to cut military spending in future

Putin said that Russia was facing budgetary pressures due to increased defence spending, which had fuelled inflation, and was ready to scale back military expenditure in the long term.