MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. The peace plan for Ukraine proposed by Beijing earlier this year is realistic and could be the basis for a settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin told China Media Group in an interview published on the Kremlin website.

"We are thankful to our Chinese friends for trying to think about ways to end this crisis," the Russian president said. "We highly value those proposals. I think they are absolutely realistic and could lay the foundation for peace arrangements," Putin said, noting that it was Kiev that did "not want to enter into any negotiations," so it was the Ukrainian side that should declare its readiness to negotiate.

"We are ready, including on the basis of the proposals by our Chinese friends," Putin emphasized.

In February 2023, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a position paper on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. It contains 12 points, including calls for a ceasefire, respect for the legitimate security interests of all countries, settlement of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, exchange of prisoners of war between Moscow and Kiev, as well as refusal to impose unilateral sanctions without a relevant decision of the UN Security Council.

In the published document, China called the talks "the only way to resolve the crisis in Ukraine" and urged all sides to help Moscow and Kiev "move toward each other" and resume direct dialogue as soon as possible. It was stressed that the international community should create conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of negotiations.