Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for discussions with Ukraine, according to a statement made by the Kremlin on Friday.
The announcement came after the Russian leader held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin told Xi that Russia's military operation in Ukraine was necessary to protect people against "genocide," the Kremlin said, an accusation that the West calls baseless propaganda.
The Kremlin said Xi respected Russia's actions and was ready for close coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, where both are veto-holding permanent members of the Security Council.
"In response to the proposal of (President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy), Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk at the level of representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Administration for talks with the Ukrainian delegation," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a day after Moscow launched a military intervention in Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin spokesperson, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko promised that Minsk would be ready to create "all the necessary conditions for the negotiation process of the Russian Federation and Ukraine."
Tensions started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the United States and its allies accused Russia of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine.
They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, claims consistently rejected by Moscow.
Defying threats of sanctions by the West, Moscow earlier this week officially recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, followed by the start of a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday.
Putin said the operation aims to protect people "subjected to genocide" by Kyiv and to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine while calling on the Ukrainian army to lay down its arms.
Putin calls on Ukraine's military to topple government
Putin also called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in their country.
"I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields," Putin said at a televised meeting with Russia's security council.
"Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement."
Putin added that Russian servicemen in Ukraine were acting "bravely, professionally and heroically."
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s spokesperson said early Saturday that Ukraine and Russia are continuing consultations regarding the place and time of negotiation talks.
Moscow's offer of peace negotiations is not a genuine effort, US says
However, the U.S. State Department slammed Russia's offer of peace negotiations with Ukraine, saying they are not a genuine effort to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
"Diplomacy by the barrel of a gun, coercive diplomacy, is not something that we are going to take part in," spokesperson Ned Price said, adding this would not aid peace efforts in a real, genuine and sustainable way.
"Moscow is now a pariah on the world stage, President Putin is a pariah," Price said, adding that the US was ready to engage in serious and honest efforts to resolve the conflict.
Diplomacy cannot succeed in a context where "you rain down bombs, mortar shells" and "your tanks advance towards a capital of 2.9 million people," he said.