UPDATED: Putin said not right time for Ukraine ceasefire- Draghi

ROME, March 31 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that conditions were not yet in place for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Draghi told a news conference on Thursday when asked about a telephone call with Putin the previous day.

Draghi also said that Putin told him that current gas contracts remained in force and that European firms will continue to pay in euros and dollars, rather than in roubles.

“What I understood, but I may be wrong, is that the conversion of the payment…. is an internal matter of the Russian Federation,” Draghi said.

Asked about increased defence spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Draghi said Italy will reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2028, adding that this was not in dispute among members of his coalition.

However, Draghi said that the government’s upcoming economic forecasting document would not spell out a specific increase in defence spending.

• Moscow would not refuse a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba but any talks between them would need to be substantive, RIA news agency cited the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Thursday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier on Thursday that Turkey was working to bring together the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers for further talks after hosting peace negotiations in Istanbul this week. Cavusoglu said the meeting could happen within two weeks.

Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued in Chernihiv despite Russian statements indicating an intended reduction of military activity around the area, British military intelligence said on Thursday.

Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. “Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.”

Heavy fighting continued in Mariupol, a key objective of Russian forces, the ministry said, adding that Ukrainian forces remain in control of the centre of the city.

Photo – A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry press service.