Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that Moscow was allegedly ready to halt its advance along the current line of contact in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions if it received control over the remaining territory of Donbass still held by Ukraine. The report was published by the Turkish outlet Haberler.

The newspaper recalled that Russia’s initial territorial demands required the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the entire administrative borders of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, as well as from the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

Fidan was quoted as saying that Moscow had since scaled back those demands and was prepared to hold its positions along the current frontline, with one exception. He noted that Donbass is divided into two parts — Lugansk and Donetsk — and that there was now a preliminary understanding about transferring the remaining 25–30 percent of Donetsk still under Ukrainian control to Russia, while leaving Kherson and Zaporozhye within the current lines of engagement.

The Turkish foreign minister argued that this proposal, coupled with Moscow’s willingness to confirm the deal with security guarantees for Ukraine, created «a truly remarkable foundation in the form of a framework agreement.»

Reports of similar conditions had already appeared in Western media earlier, citing various diplomatic sources.

However, Moscow has not confirmed this information. On August 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia’s conditions for peace with Ukraine had not changed since June of last year. At that time, Moscow demanded recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the withdrawal of all Ukrainian forces from Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson. On August 15, Putin and U. S. President Donald Trump discussed possible terms for a settlement during their summit in Anchorage, Alaska.