Russian President Vladimir Putin says an American peace plan could be a start for talks to end the war in Ukraine. He said this during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. But he also gave Ukraine a strong warning. He said Ukrainian soldiers must leave areas that Russia now controls.
The peace plan was first written by the United States. It had 28 points. After talking with Ukraine, the plan was made shorter. It now has 19 points. Some difficult ideas were removed because Ukraine did not agree with them.
Putin said the plan could be a good basis for future agreements. However, he quickly added that if Ukrainian forces do not leave, Russia will use its army to make them leave.
While leaders talk, the fighting continues. In Russia, a court sent eight people to prison for life for a bomb attack on a bridge in 2022.
The main problem for peace talks is that Russia and Ukraine want different things first. Russia wants to keep the land it took. Ukraine wants Russian soldiers to leave. An American diplomat will go to Moscow next week for more talks.