ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. The US and NATO turn down talks with Russia on the issue of ensuring equal security for all countries, while Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky put in place legislation that bans talks with Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the second Russia-Africa summit.
"All contradictions should be resolved through negotiations, but the problem is that they refuse to negotiate with us. What underlies the conflict is the creation of threats to Russia's security by the United States and NATO, and they, I repeat, refuse to negotiate on issues of equal security for all, including Russia. Ukraine itself, or rather the current Ukrainian regime, refuses to negotiate. This has been officially announced, and the Ukrainian president has adopted a decree on this issue, prohibiting negotiations," Putin said.
He said that he had repeatedly stated that Russia was ready for negotiations, but said Moscow would not force them on anyone.
Putin thanked his African counterparts for their attention to the issue and added that "it is necessary to conduct a dialogue with the opposite side as well."
The second Russia-Africa summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum convention center from July 27-28. An economic and humanitarian forum is running in parallel to the event. Like the previous summit, the upcoming one will be held under the motto For Peace, Security and Development. The Roscongress Foundation is the summit’s organizer while TASS is the summit’s photo hosting agency and media partner. TASS is also holding the second Russia-Africa Media Forum.