The Kremlin assured on Monday that it is open to holding negotiations with Ukraine to achieve an end to the war unleashed in February, while stressing that Kiev’s actions prevent «an opportunity» to address these contacts.
«We have repeatedly said that the Russian side is open to achieving its goals in negotiations, but we have also drawn attention to the fact that at the moment we do not see an opportunity for this,» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He stressed that the Ukrainian authorities «have enacted a law on the non-continuation of any kind of negotiations with Russia», as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, issued in early October a decree which states, among other things, that it is «impossible» to open a process of negotiations with Russia to end the armed conflict triggered on February 24 by the invasion order given by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
On the other hand, the pro-Russian authorities of the Donetsk region have denounced this very Monday that more than 500 civilians, including 23 children, have died since the beginning of the invasion, before adding that more than 3,700 people have been wounded, according to the Russian agency TASS.