Negotiations will only take place after an assessment of the realities on the ground, says Russia.

247 - Russia remains ready for peace talks with Ukraine, but they must take place without preconditions and must take into account the realities on the ground, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin.

“There have already been negotiations” between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Minsk and Istanbul, several weeks after the start of the conflict in February last year, Vershinin told broadcaster Zvezda this Saturday (11). “As you remember, they were interrupted by the Ukrainian side.”

Decisions on issues such as a peace process “are not made in Kiev. Decisions are made in other capitals, primarily in Washington and Brussels. And that is who one should address” regarding the talks, the diplomat pointed out.

Regarding Russia's position, he reiterated that "any military action ends with negotiations and, as we have said before, we will obviously be ready for such negotiations."

However, Vershinin stressed that the talks should proceed "without preconditions, based on the existing reality" and "taking into account the objectives that have been publicly stated" by Moscow.

On Friday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted that “it would be up to [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky to determine if and when negotiations are appropriate and, certainly, under what circumstances.”

Washington "will remain committed to supporting Ukraine so that they can succeed on the battlefield" against Russia, as this will allow Zelensky to have "the wind in his favor" when these negotiations begin, Kirby pointed out.

Last week, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who had mediated talks between Moscow and Kyiv, stated that negotiations held between the two sides in Istanbul at the end of March were "blocked" by Kyiv's Western supporters. "I think there was a legitimate decision by the West to continue attacking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin… I mean, the most aggressive approach," he said.

Russia and Ukraine have not met at the negotiating table since then, with Zelensky signing a decree in the fall officially banning him from any dialogue with Putin.

The Ukrainian leader is currently moving forward with his ten-point peace planwhich, among other things, demands that Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory, pay reparations, and submit to war crimes tribunals. (With RT). 

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