MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said the war in Ukraine was nearing its conclusion and indicated he was prepared to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe, speaking to reporters at the Victory Day parade in Moscow on Saturday. He named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder as his preferred partner for any such talks.

"I think that the matter is coming to an end," Putin said of the Russia-Ukraine war. Asked about potential European negotiations, he said: "For me personally, the former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Schröder, is preferable."

He said Russia had not yet received any proposals from Ukraine on a prisoner exchange. The warring sides agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners each during the truce. On the prospect of meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said: "This should be the final point, not the negotiations themselves."

The Victory Day parade in Moscow displayed no military hardware for the first time in nearly two decades. The leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were the only foreign heads of state in attendance.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is in its fifth year. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, left swathes of Ukraine in ruins, and drained Russia's economy. Russian advances have slowed this year, and Russian forces have been unable to take the whole of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Moscow controls just under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

In the days before the parade, Moscow threatened to bomb the centre of Kyiv, including foreign embassies, and warned overseas missions to evacuate their staff. Putin has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999.

European Council President António Costa said last week that he believed there was "potential" for the EU to negotiate with Russia and discuss the future of Europe's security architecture.