Putin said that a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators during the early weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, could serve as a basis for future discussions.
The current situation on the battlefield should also be taken into account in any talks, Putin said while fielding questions on state TV during his annual marathon question and answer session.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were no Istanbul agreements between Ukraine and Russia during a press conference at the European Council meeting in Brussels.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says no deals were signed by Ukraine during talks in Istanbul. (AP PHOTO)
"Ukraine did not agree to the ultimatum from the Russian Federation," Zelenskiy said.Â
"Ukraine did not sign anything, no agreements existed. There was a response to the ultimatum from the Russian Federation."
If and when a deal was reached, Russia would be ready to sign it only with the legitimate authorities of Ukraine, which for now the Kremlin considered to be the Ukrainian parliament, Putin said on Thursday.
Russia was ready to conduct negotiations with Zelenskiy, Putin said but added that the Ukrainian president - whose term has technically expired but who has delayed an election because of the war -would need to be re-elected for the Kremlin to consider him a legitimate signatory to any deal to ensure it was legally watertight.
Putin dismissed the idea of agreeing a temporary truce with Ukraine, saying only a long-lasting peace deal with the country would suffice.
Putin also said he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with US president-elect Donald Trump on ending the war.
Trump has vowed to swiftly end the conflict but has not yet given any details on how he might achieve that.
Putin told a reporter for a US news channel that he was ready to meet Trump, whom he said he had not spoken to for years.
Asked what he might be able to offer Trump, Putin dismissed an assertion that Russia was in a weak position, saying that Russia had got much stronger since he ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.
"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises," Putin said after stating that Russian forces, advancing across the entire front, were moving towards achieving their primary goals in Ukraine.
"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight. We are ready but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises."
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead and displaced millions.
Russia, which casts the conflict as a defensive special military operation designed to stop dangerous NATO expansion to the east, controls about a fifth of Ukraine and has taken several thousand square kilometres of territory this year.
Discussing the continued presence of Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region, Putin said Ukraine's troops would be forced out but declined to say exactly when that would happen.
Asked if he'd do anything differently, he said he should have sent troops into Ukraine sooner than 2022 and that Russia should have been better prepared for the conflict.
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