MOSCOW, June 20 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Vladimir Zelensky said talks between Russia and Ukraine on a peaceful settlement of the conflict could resume.

I think rounds of negotiations with the Russian side will resume. The question is in what format, Zelensky told journalists.

On June 4, Zelensky published an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposing meeting in a third country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the next day that Putin was informed about the letter. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later added that the Russian leader viewed the message as Ukraine's lack of interest in settlement talks, adding that it remains difficult to make a forecast on the prospects for negotiations.

Russia has repeatedly stated its readiness to pursue a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis, based on the understandings reached by the Russian and US presidents at the summit in Alaska - including addressing the root causes of the conflict, specifically the threats to Russia's national security.

Since the year start, Russian and Ukrainian delegations, with US participation, have held three rounds of talks. The most recent round took place in Geneva on February 17–18.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar