MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. Russia respects Pope Francis’ peace initiatives for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but the West disrupted the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at the very beginning, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Wednesday.

"The Holy See has repeatedly signaled its readiness to assist in achieving peace and the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. For our part, we can only welcome such an attitude. Russia has great respect for the peacekeeping efforts that Pope Francis has consistently exerted for the sake of humanistic values," she said.

Russia and the Vatican continue "a substantive dialogue on a number of issues, including those of humanitarian nature."

"We are grateful to the Pontiff for his mediation efforts. They are really valuable to us, but in any conflict, there is always another party, and in this particular case, many of them," Zakharova stressed. "The fundamental decisions regarding Ukraine are not made in Kiev. The West was quick to disrupt the negotiations [between Russia and Ukraine] when they had barely begun."