Russia  said it was looking over an Italian peace plan proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine.

“We have received it recently and are studying it,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told reporters. He declined to provide any details, saying Russia would comment at a later stage.

“It has not been discussed between Russia and Italy,” he said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. Talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the hostilities have essentially ground to a halt.

Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said yesterday that Russia was willing to resume negotiations but the onus was on Kyiv.

“Freezing the current negotiations and putting everything on pause is not our initiative,” Mr Rudenko said.

“We will be ready to resume as soon as Ukraine shows a constructive position and at least provides a reaction to the proposals submitted to it.”

Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have been held regularly, both in person and via video-link, since the Russian military offensive began on February 24.

The Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers met for inconclusive talks in Turkey in March, followed by a meeting of the delegations in Istanbul, which also failed to bring about concrete results.