MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Moscow sees no prospects for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine yet but does not close the door to this opportunity, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
"We spoke at quite various levels, including the highest level that the Russian side never closed the door to the negotiating process. But we do not see any prospects for this negotiating process so far," the Russian presidential spokesman said, commenting on a statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that peace talks on Ukraine might commence by the fall.
"It is important for us to achieve our goals and they can be achieved by different methods. However, political and diplomatic methods are, unfortunately, presently inaccessible, first and foremost, perhaps, because the Kiev regime rejects this opportunity and also because primarily Washington is clearly indisposed to this process," the Kremlin press secretary stressed.
The United States exerts direct influence on the Kiev regime and directly governs it, Peskov said.
Belarusian President Lukashenko earlier said that the situation might change by the fall and the conflicting parties might commence negotiations. In his opinion, Europe, primarily, France, is ready for the talks. The United States holds an intermediate stance but will be open for dialogue after the failure of the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive.