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Russia ready for dialogue on Ukraine, lawmakers assure Inter-Parliamentary Union

"Ukraine’s existence as an ‘anti-Russia’ project is unacceptable for Moscow," Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy underscored

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. Russian State Duma lawmakers assured representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Union special working group on settlement in Ukraine that Moscow is ready for a dialogue on this issue, but the existence of Nazism, presence of foreign troops and implementation of the ‘anti-Russia’ project in Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia, Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy told reporters Thursday.

"We assured from our side that Russia is always ready for a dialogue [on Ukraine], but there are certain things that we will never accept, and will never agree to," Tolstoy said.

The senior lawmaker specified that Russia intends to achieve demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.

"Ukraine’s existence as an ‘anti-Russia’ project is unacceptable for Moscow. NATO expansion to Russia’s borders is also unacceptable. Foreign troops entering Ukraine is a direct security threat for Moscow right now," he said, answering a question from TASS.

At the same time, Tolstoy noted that expansion of the conflict to NATO states and participation "of the Poles in hostilities in Ukraine" are also unacceptable for Moscow.

"All who take up arms against a Russian soldier will be eliminated," he underscored.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to the aid request from the Donbass republics. He underscored that Russia does not plan to occupy Ukrainian territories, instead aiming to demilitarize and denazify the country. In response to Russia’s decision, Western states stated imposing large-scale anti-Russian sanctions and commenced weapons shipments to Ukraine already worth billions of dollars. A number of Western political figures have acknowledged that this is effectively an economic war against Russia.