MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine but it is hard to identify their priorities should the presidents of both countries meet, Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Alexander Venediktov told TASS on Thursday.
"Now it is difficult to identify priority tasks in case of the negotiations between the presidents because we generally do not yet see Kiev’s desire to hold any talks. On our part, we are ready for negotiations," Venediktov said, responding to a question about whether the agenda of the talks, should the presidents of Russia and Ukraine meet, would focus on the recognition of Russia’s new regions or a ceasefire.
As Venediktov stressed, "the goals stated when the special military operation in Ukraine began principally have not changed." "They, of course, transform with time and, for example, the accords reached in Istanbul [at the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in late March] that could have been basically approved by us have lost their relevance at the current stage."
The talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations started on February 28, several days after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. Several rounds were held in Belarus, following which the sides continued their contacts via video conferencing. A new round took place in Istanbul in late March. However, Ukraine subsequently departed from the accords reached. Moscow stressed that the freezing of the talks was wholly Kiev’s initiative.
In late October, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky enacted a decision by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.