WASHINGTON, January 26. /TASS/. Russia remains open for talks on Ukrainian conflict settlement and prefers to achieve its goals by diplomatic means, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Bloomberg news agency.

Commenting on the agency’s claims alleging that Russia was "testing the waters" on whether Ukrainian settlement talks with the US were possible, Peskov said: "President Putin has stated numerous times that Russia was, is and will continue to be open for negotiations on Ukraine."

"We are determined to reach our goals. And would prefer to complete it by diplomatic means. If not, the military operation will be continued till we reach our goals," he added.

In turn, US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told the agency that the United States were unaware of any changes in Russia’s stance on Ukraine.

"We are unaware of the shifts in Russia’s position described," she was quoted as saying. "It will be up to Ukraine to decide whether, when and how to negotiate with Russia.".