Russia open to dialogue on Ukraine with US Official says  

Spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova has said that Moscow is open to engaging with Washington on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, but so far, no substantial initiatives have been received from the team of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Zakharova made the statement during a briefing, noting that the Russian Foreign Ministry has been recently receiving numerous inquiries about whether Russia is willing to engage with Trump and his team, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

"Of course, we are ready to engage, including on the issue of resolving the Ukrainian crisis," she said.

"However, we have not received any serious proposals yet that would address Russia's legitimate security concerns and ensure the rights of Russian-speaking people." Zakharova reminded that the real path to resolving the conflict was previously outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She added that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had also repeatedly articulated the Russian perspective on the situation.

"If Washington truly wanted to end the conflict, it would immediately order its Ukrainian puppets to withdraw the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the positions they hold in the four new regions of the Russian Federation," Zakharova said.

"This would allow, as President Putin clearly stated in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, to begin negotiations. Of course, this should happen after Zelenskyy revokes his own decree, which was written under the US influence, banning negotiations with the Russian leadership," she added.  

On June 14, during a meeting with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry, President Putin outlined the conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine. These included the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas and Novorossiya, as well as Ukraine’s renouncement of its NATO membership aspirations. The full protection of the rights, freedoms, and interests of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine was also a key condition. Russia also deems it essential to lift all Western sanctions imposed on it and to establish a neutral, non-nuclear status for Ukraine. However, Press Secretary for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov stated on December 4, there are currently no grounds for the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.

By Naila Huseynova