Rudenko on Kyiv's Suspension of Negotiations

Ukrainian President Zelensky stated yesterday that Ukraine will sit at the negotiation table with Russia only after reclaiming its territories lost during the special military operation that began on February 24. This was announced by Zelensky in an interview with Japanese public television.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said today that the topic of security guarantees for Kyiv was discussed during negotiations, but Kyiv itself halted the process, and there is currently no information on new attempts, according to RIA Novosti.

Commenting on statements by Andrey Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, about the possibility of creating an international advisory group to develop security guarantees for Kyiv, Rudenko noted that he is hearing about this for the first time. “Such discussions took place within the context of our negotiation process. However, after Ukraine suspended its participation, I have not heard of any further attempts,” Rudenko added.

According to him, Russia doubts Ukraine's sincerity in seeking a peaceful resolution to the situation, and the conditions proposed by Kyiv for the resumption of negotiations with Moscow are not constructive. Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky had stated that the continuation of negotiations with the Russian Federation is possible only under the condition of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

“In this regard, we can hardly consider this statement as constructive. I want to remind you that Ukraine actively participated in the negotiations from the very first day of the military operation and did not impose any conditions. And if now they are setting these conditions, it leads us to doubt their sincerity in seeking a peaceful solution,” Rudenko told reporters.