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Military operation in Ukraine

Russia vows to resume talks when Kiev is ready for them, says MP

We can see that Zelensky is in no mood for meetings or talks today, Leonid Slutsky, a member of the negotiating group and Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, said

LDPR Leader and Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

LDPR Leader and Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Russia is ready to discuss the resumption of talks if Ukraine declares its readiness for them, Leonid Slutsky, a member of the negotiating group and Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, said.

"We can see that [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky is in no mood for meetings or talks today. If the Ukrainian side declares that it is ready for talks at any level, in any format, then we will discuss and react. So far this is not happening," Slutsky told reporters on Thursday.

On May 4, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine was going on without momentum. The Kremlin spokesman stressed that Kiev was changing its position every day. He also noted that Ukraine's inconsistent position did not give confidence that the negotiation process could be effective.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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