Russia says 'ready' to talk to Ukraine, recognition of annexed regions 'imperative'

Russia said Monday that its claims over five Ukrainian regions including Crimea were "imperative" to talks aimed at resolving the conflict.

"International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Brazilian newspaper O Globo, using the Kremlin's names for the Ukrainian regions.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media Monday that Moscow was ready to start peace talks with Ukraine without any preconditions, after U.S. President Donald Trump questioned willingness to halt the three-year offensive.

"The Russian side has repeatedly confirmed its readiness, as confirmed by the president, to begin negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," Peskov said.

Trump on Sunday said he thought Ukrainian leader Volodomyr Zelensky was ready to give up Crimea, in direct contradiction to the Ukrainian leader's statements.

"Oh, I think so," said Trump in response to a question on whether he thought Zelensky was ready to "give up" the territory that Russia occupied in 2014.