Austria stands for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said on Thursday, emphasizing that his country is ready to host relevant negotiations.

"We take note of the Russian president's statements regarding his openness for peace talks with Ukraine. Any negotiations must take place without preconditions and at eye level. Austria will be ready to support a just and lasting peace based on international law and to serve as venue for negotiations as the seat of the OSCE," he said on the X social network.

Earlier this day, Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has never refused to negotiate with Ukraine, yet the talks must be based on the agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022.

"Are we ready to negotiate with them? We have never refused to do so. Yet this must be done on the basis of documents coordinated and practically initialed in Istanbul, rather than some ephemeral demands," he said at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.