MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. The Kremlin has rejected talks with the United States on the condition that Moscow pulls out of Ukraine, though Russian President Vladimir Putin remains open to maintaining contact, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

He pointed out that according to US President Joe Biden, Putin needed "to pull out of Ukraine" to make talks possible.

"He (Biden - TASS) believes that it will be a sign indicating Putin’s readiness to hold talks," the spokesman noted. When asked if the Kremlin wasn’t ready to do so, Peskov said: "Without a doubt, the special military operation continues."

"However, President Putin has been and remains open to maintaining contact and holding talks. The use of peaceful diplomatic means is certainly the most preferred way to achieve our goals," the Russian presidential spokesman stressed.

According to him, "the US is still reluctant to recognize Russia’s new territories, which surely significantly complicates the search for common ground." Peskov also said that before the launch of the special military operation, it had been Putin who "was trying to initiate talks with the US, NATO and the OSCE based on the documents that we drafted [on security guarantees for Russia]." The Kremlin spokesman pointed out that "the initiative was not met with reciprocity." That said, he noted that "the Russian president has been and remains open to talks in order to ensure our interests."

Biden said on Thursday that he was prepared to speak with Putin about ending military activities in Ukraine but did not have immediate plans to contact the Russian leader as he believed that Moscow first needed to make certain decisions.