ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains an open door to all contacts for discussing solutions to the Ukrainian problem and supports all ideas aimed at resolving the situation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"President Putin was, is and will be open to any contacts in order to discuss possible solutions to the Ukrainian problem," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters.

"For us, the phrase 'Ukrainian problem' is absolutely clear. It did not suddenly appear a year ago; it has been ripening for many decades. It pertains to the security of our country; it pertains to our country’s security guarantees for the future; it pertains to the existence of a center that is openly hostile to ethnic Russians and to the Russian state right on our border, which has been nurtured from abroad in every way; it pertains to NATO’s expansion together with its military infrastructure right up to our borders," Peskov said, enumerating the factors behind the Ukrainian crisis.

"Of course, there may be various ways of resolving this problem, and so any and all potential ideas, or sets of ideas, aimed at resolving this [Ukrainian] problem and ending this conflict have the support of Putin. He is holding these talks [with a delegation from African nations] and welcomes the upcoming contacts with African leaders," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.

Peskov said that there are no plans to adopt any documents based on the results of Putin's meeting with African leaders.

Earlier, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that the Russian leader was scheduled to meet with high-ranking representatives of several African countries in St. Petersburg on June 17 to discuss their joint initiative for achieving a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.