MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia's readiness to negotiate with Ukraine without preconditions during his earlier talk with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

"During yesterday's talks with Trump's envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," Peskov said, adding that Putin has spoken about it repeatedly.

Putin and Witkoff discussed the possibility of direct Russia-Ukraine talks during their meeting in Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Friday.

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Ushakov said the talks focused on the possibility of restarting direct negotiations between representatives from Russia and Ukraine, and the meeting helped to further align the positions of Russia and the United States, both on Ukraine and on other international issues.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has completed an operation to regain control of the border region of Kursk, and the results have been reported to Putin, Peskov said.

In his response to the army's report published by the Kremlin, Putin said that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region has completely failed, and its losses will "certainly be reflected on the entire line of combat contact."

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He added that the defeat creates conditions for further successful military actions on other fronts.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Telegram Saturday that Russia's claim of completing the operation in the Kursk region does not correspond to reality, adding that Ukraine's operation in certain areas of Kursk continues, and there is no threat of an encirclement of its units.