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Military operation in Ukraine

Talks with Ukraine possible only with consideration of Russia’s terms — Senate Speaker

It is noted that otherwise, no talks will be possible

HARARE, June 2. /TASS/. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are possible only with consideration of Russia’s terms, but Moscow will not try to persuade Kiev, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, who is currently on official visit to Zimbabwe, told reporters Thursday.

"Negotiations are possible only with consideration of our terms, which we defined, and immutability of these terms. Our readiness for talks does not mean that we will persuade Ukraine, no," Matviyenko said, answering a question from TASS.

"[If] they gain enough will, maybe they will finally get rid of the total external control, comprehend all that happened, and then such negotiations process will be possible on the terms, formulated by Russia. Let’s see how they will behave in Ukraine, we do not force the events, we do not insist. We have only stated our readiness, but on our terms," she added.

According to the senior senator, no talks will be possible otherwise.

Earlier, the Office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Erdogan had phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. According to Ankara, Erdogan raised the question of organization of a meeting between representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul. On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview that Zelensky told Erdogan about his desire to meet with Putin.

The talks between Russia and Ukraine have been going on since February 28. Several meetings took place in Belarus, followed by video conference communication. On March 29, the sides met in Istanbul. On April 12, Putin told reporters that Kiev stepped away from the Istanbul agreements and drove the process into a dead end. On April 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow handed over a draft agreement with precise language to Kiev and is expecting a response. Leaders of Russia and Ukraine have not met within the negotiations process yet.

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Foreign policy Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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