MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. The accession of new regions to Russia should be taken into consideration if the talks with Ukraine resume, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second CIS Department Alexey Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.
Since the moment when Kiev suspended the negotiations "the situation has largely changed as new regions joined Russia," he noted. "Consequently, new conditions should be considered if the talks resume and continue," the diplomat added.
Moscow has never avoided the talks, Polishchuk pointed out.
"At the end of February 2022, we acceded to Kiev’s request and achieved the mutually acceptable framework for agreements by the end of March or the beginning of April after many rounds of intense work," he said. "However, Kiev, obviously at the behest of the Anglo-Saxons scared by the prospects of the peaceful settlement, unexpectedly interrupted the negotiation process, leaving our proposals dated April 15 unanswered," the official added.
From September 23 to September 27, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) 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 and the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia. On October 4, Putin signed laws on ratification of treaties on accession of the DPR and the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions to Russia.