MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Moscow is still waiting for straightforward signals from Kiev about its intention to resume the negotiating process given the new territorial realities, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
"We are still waiting for clear, unambiguous signals from the Kiev regime about its desire to resume the negotiation process taking into account the new territorial realities and the situation on the ground," Zakharova said, speaking at a news briefing and commenting on the negotiation prospects with Ukraine.
Zakharova also said Moscow believes that it would be wrong to talk about any stances of the parties right now.
"Let them [Kiev] decide for themselves whether they are blocking the negotiations or not," the spokeswoman stated.
"Let them coordinate their final stance with Brussels, Washington and London, because it is unbearable to keep listening to the endless complaining from the US Department of State that Russia is allegedly not ready for the negotiations as if they are blind to the fact that the Kiev regime blocked all negotiations with Russia through legislation," she noted.
Zakharova stressed that the Russian authorities "have always been committed to diplomatic methods to settle any conflict."
"Today, we are also ready to resort to such methods, but I should say it once again that we cannot ignore the reality and stand idly by," she added.
In late October, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky enacted a decision by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on fully excluding any talks whatsoever with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Developments in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military back then, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.
From September 23 to September 27, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic as well as the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region held a referendum where the majority of voters opted to join Russia.
On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the DPR, the LPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia. Later, the State Duma and the Federation Council (the lower and upper houses of Russia’s parliament) approved legislation on ratifying these treaties, as well as federal constitutional laws on the accession of the four regions to Russia.