Russia is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with Ukraine, kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday, February 25.

"As you know, today the President of Ukraine [Volodymyr] Zelensky announced his readiness to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine. Initially, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the purpose of the operation was to help the [Luhansk People's Republic] and the [Donetsk People's Republic], including through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. And this, in fact, is an integral component of the neutral status," Peskov said.

"In this context, in response to Zelensky's proposal, Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk at the level of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation," he said,according to RIA Novosti.

Also Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said his Thursday phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, demanding a halt to Russia’s military offensive, was made on behalf of Zelensky, who was unable to reach him directly.

Macron told reporters that his conversation with Putin was frank, direct and brief. "It was also to ask him to discuss with President Zelensky, who had requested that, because he could not reach him," Macron said after attending a European Union summit in Brussels, the Wall Street Journal reports.