ASTANA. July 4 (Interfax) - Russia is ready to take Ukraine peace initiatives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states into account, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that Moscow has always supported a peaceful, political-diplomatic settlement of the conflict.
"We are grateful to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the conflict settlement proposal. Indeed, Russia is ready to take your ideas and initiatives into consideration," Putin said at a meeting of the SCO Council of the Heads of State in Astana.
"Russia has always been and remains committed to a peaceful, political-diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine situation, the crisis that stems from the completely unceremonious policy of the United States and its satellites," he said.
"We have repeatedly put forward practical proposals to the effect. Please note that we presented yet another settlement variant in mid-June. If the Ukrainian side and, most importantly, its Western sponsors, accept it, the hostilities could stop immediately, in a snap, in order to save human lives and begin negotiations," Putin said.