MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. The agreements reached in Istanbul could become a basis for the start of new peace talks on Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview for the News of the Week program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel, adding that the situation on the ground has already changed, which should also be taken into account.

"If coming to the negotiating table a question arises: <…> what to start with? He [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has suggested correctly, from the ground, to start from what we stopped at in Istanbul. <…> Indeed, the situation on the ground has changed, but we can start from it, start discussions," he said.

"If the situation develops as near Kursk, there will be an escalation, which will result in Ukraine’s elimination," the president added.

Putin said earlier that agreements with Kiev should be based on the draft of Istanbul agreements dated 2022 (that included provisions on neutrality and security guarantees) and consider the existing territorial realia.