MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Western powers are highly unlikely to allow Ukraine to return to the negotiating table, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the national broadcaster of Belarus, aired on Thursday.

"I see no possibility of them being allowed to resume negotiations," he said.

The minister added that he would accept Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s invitation to gather for talks on the territory of Belarus "with great pleasure."

"I don’t see any possibility for Ukraine to put forward any proposals <…> but we are not going to propose anything as well. We made our proposals long ago. Now, the ball is on their side," Lavrov said.

Earlier, an aide to the Russian president and chief negotiator with Ukraine Vladimir Medinsky said Kiev paused talks with Moscow following a visit to Ukraine by the heads of the Pentagon and the Department of State.