ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. Russia is ready to look of ways to achieve the peaceful resolution of the situation around Ukraine, despite the Western course towards acting solely in their own interests in any international conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with African national leaders.
"Have they forgotten that they destroyed the situation in Sudan? Have they forgotten what they did in Syria? They could not care less about the UN Charter, they only remember about international law when they believe that these instruments could be used against someone - Russia, in this case. They will not achieve anything, this is too primitive. If they want someone to comply with the UN Charter and other international law acts, they should make an effort to comply the same norms themselves. However, this does not mean that we do not want and do not seek a peaceful resolution of any conflict," Putin said.
Addressing the African leaders, the Russian president said: "Your approach, your ideas - all this echoes the points of the Chinese peace plan for Ukrainian settlement, presented in February."
He noted that Ukrainian authorities "have published a special legal basis that prohibits negotiations with Russia."
"We, on our side, have never rejected negotiations, we have always said that we are ready for further dialogue," Putin underscored.
Putin reiterated that Russia has "always stated its readiness for negotiations publicly."
He pointed out that "the draft [peace] treaty has been effectively negotiated" earlier.
"But after the withdrawal of our forces from outskirts of Kiev - and we were asked to do so in order to create conditions for signing of the final agreement - Kiev authorities disavowed all previous agreements," he said.
"Therefore I believe that the ball is totally in their court. I will not tell the details of what we negotiated right now, that would not be appropriate. However, not all know that, and we know it very well that Kiev obtained its independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, based on the declaration of independence, and this declaration states clearly that Ukraine is a neutral state. This is of principal importance to us; it is not quite clear for us, why the West started pulling Ukraine into NATO," Putin concluded, adding that, in Moscow’s opinion, this is what poses a fundamental threat to Russia’s interests.