ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/. The Kiev regime rejects any opportunities for negotiations with Moscow to please the Western countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

"The Kiev regime systematically and fundamentally rejects any opportunity for negotiations [with Russia] to please the West," she said.

As she dwelt on Russia's reaction to the peace initiatives for resolving the Ukrainian crisis Zakharova said that "the Kiev regime has blocked all opportunities for negotiations at the legislative level."

"I am not sure that there has ever been such a precedent in the world of any regime, any ruling elite prohibiting itself from negotiating with someone else. This has happened in Ukraine," Zakharova stressed.

 

About SPIEF

 

The 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the largest annual economic and business event in Russia, will take place on June 14-17. The theme of this year's forum is "Sovereign Development as a Basis for a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations". The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the official media partner of the event.