MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. Russia proceeds from a presidential decree on the evacuation from the Azovstal industrial site, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, commenting on the remarks by a Ukrainian deputy prime minister who said Kiev’s willing to sign a decree on the procedure.

"We have been following the instructions issued by our President [Vladimir Putin] who said all civilians are free to leave the plant in any direction, and these have been implemented," the Kremlin spokesman said. "As to the militants, they are also free to exit if they give up arms, and they will be treated accordingly, those injured will be given the necessary medical assistance, according to the instructions," Peskov added.

"This is what the president said, these are the instructions by the supreme commander-in-chief that we have been following," Peskov said.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said earlier on Friday that Kiev was willing to sign a decree specifying the procedure for evacuation from the Azovstal plant in Mairupol. She announced the first round of negotiations on a roadmap for the evacuation involving the International Committee of the Red Cross. Turkey will mediate the latest round of negotiations, and the evacuation will be held in stages, with those heavily wounded categorized as the first to be evacuated, she said. On May 7, Vereshchuk said all civilians had been evacuated from the plant’s premises.

At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on April 21, Putin called off plans to assault the Azovstal complex as inexpedient. He gave instructions for the military to block the industrial area completely. On May 4, Shoigu reported that the remains of a Ukrainian military group were securely blocked along the entire perimeter of Azovstal. The Russian armed forces have attempted to convince Ukrainian militants to lay down their weapons and to let civilians go.

Mariupol is the largest city on the Sea of Azov. It is a key iron and steel center of the Donbass republics and a major seaport. The battles for Mariupol erupted on February 25. Ukrainian nationalists currently remain holed up at Azovstal, blocked by Russian troops.