Maria Zakharova drew attention to a statement made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in this year’s May that his country should first return all the territories as of February 24 and only then sit down at the negotiating table
The Russian side has not received any requests from its Ukrainian counterparts for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
“We have not received any requests from the Ukrainian side for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of any events,” she said.
“As for the negotiations with Ukraine, our position on this issue is well known and has not changed,” the diplomat recalled, “We have voiced it many times at different stages, responding also to requests from the Kiev regime, about dialogue, negotiations, meetings and so on, and we have always done so taking into account the territorial realities and the situation on the ground. The question is not to us, but to what is going on with the Kiev regime. They withdrew from the negotiation process, they only further consolidated themselves on the rejection of negotiations as such.”
In this regard, Zakharova drew attention to a statement made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in this year’s May that his country should first return all the territories as of February 24 and only then sit down at the negotiating table.
“That was in May, by the fall the rhetoric had changed again,” Zakharova noted, “On September 30, Zelensky signed a decree stating that it was impossible to hold negotiations with the Russian president. He later explained that Kiev was allegedly ready to negotiate with Russia, but only with another Russian president. Washington should know this, so that they don’t repeat the same mantra that Russia is allegedly not ready for negotiations.”.
