President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russian and Ukrainian demands for peace remain “absolutely contradictory,” as recent talks failed to bring the two sides closer to a ceasefire.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators exchanged written proposals at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month, but aside from agreeing on large-scale prisoner exchanges, the negotiations have yielded no tangible progress.

“As for the memorandums, as expected, nothing surprising happened… these are two absolutely contradictory memorandums,” Putin said during a press conference in Minsk, Belarus, referring to each side’s peace proposals.

“That’s why negotiations are being organized and conducted — to try to bring these positions closer,” he added.

Putin has so far rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire and ramped up air attacks as Russian forces advance further into Ukrainian territory, including beyond the four regions Moscow claims to have annexed since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede more land and abandon Western military support, conditions Kyiv has called unacceptable.