Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on Sunday direct negotiations with Ukrainian officials to end the war, which began with the 2022 invasion of Moscow.

So far, Putin has provided little (if any) but is now proposing talks with Ukraine in the Turkish city of Istanbul, where he said it must be held without prerequisites and the goal of lasting peace must be achieved.

"We recommend Kiev resume direct negotiations without any premise," Putin said in a televised statement on Sunday. "We provide the Kiev authorities with the resumption of negotiations in Istanbul on Thursday."

The Kremlin chief said the negotiations should resolve the root cause of the war, and he will talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan later on Sunday to facilitate the negotiations, which he said could lead to a ceasefire.

Putin of Russia presides over China's XI in a large-scale military parade in Moscow held in Red Square

"As they said, our proposal is on the table," Putin said. "This decision now depends on the Ukrainian authorities and their curators whose personal political ambitions seem to be guided rather than in the interests of the people."

The proposal is a welcome signal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Kiev is willing to negotiate but Moscow must agree to a ceasefire.

He wrote on X: "This is a positive sign. The Russians are finally starting to think about ending the war. The whole world has been waiting for a long time. The first step to truly ending any war is that a ceasefire is meaningless. Even if one day continues to kill people, it doesn't make sense. We expect Russia to be able to confirm the Russian ceasefire - all-weather-lasting, lasting, probably in tomorrow's time, and there are 12 o'clock, 12 o'clock, and 12 o'clock, and 12 o'clock, and in public, and started 12 times, and started 12 o'clock, and started in December, and started in December.

US President Donald Trump said that if the "bloody" of the war could end, thousands of lives would be saved.

"This could be a great day for Russia and Ukraine!" Trump wrote about Truth Social. “Think about thousands of lives that will be saved because it never ends 'Bloodbath' hopes to end. It will be a whole new, better world. I will continue to work with both sides to make sure it happens.

Putin's direct negotiation proposal comes hours after European leaders asked the Russian president to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face new sanctions in Kiev on Saturday. But Putin rejected the attempts of some European powers to issue what he calls "the last atums."

The Russian leader said he did not rule out that Moscow and Kiev would reach a consensus on "some new conclusions, new ceasefires" during the negotiations in Türkiye, saying the talks would be the first step towards a "sustainable" peace.

Putin said Russia has proposed several ceasefires, including a moratorium on eye-catching energy facilities, an Easter ceasefire and a recent 72-hour truce in celebrations for 80 years since World War II.

Putin said that during the ceasefire in May, Ukraine attacked Russia with 524 aerial drones, 45 maritime drones and several Western missiles. But Ukraine accused Russia of violating temporary basis, including a ceasefire from May 8 to 10.

Ukrainian officials said Russia launched drone attacks on Kiev and other parts of Ukraine on Sunday, hurting a person and damaging several private houses, despite Putin's peace talks.

Despite Trump's pressure and warnings from European leaders, Putin maintained the conditions to end the war.

He said in June that Ukraine must formally give up hope of joining NATO and withdrawing its troops from the entire territory of the four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia. Moscow also urged the United States to recognize Russia's control over parts of Ukraine.

But Russian officials said they are not opposed to Kiev's ambition to join the EU.

Biden blows up Trump as Russia's "stupid" pacifier, saying the first 100 days are not victory

Click here to get the Fox News app

Putin mentioned the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in 2022 shortly after the Russian invasion began.

Under the draft, Ukraine should agree to permanent neutrality

"It's not Russia that broke the negotiations in 2022. It's Kiev," Putin said. "Russia is ready to negotiate without any prerequisites."

Putin thanked China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries for their efforts to conduct mediation.

Reuters contributed to the report.