MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. The ball is currently not in Russia’s court in terms of talks with Kiev as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky must first rescind his decree banning Kiev officials from even entering into negotiations with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"An agreement was reached almost two years ago, in April 2022, but the Anglo-Saxons simply prohibited Zelensky from signing it even though it had been agreed on," the top Russian diplomat pointed out at a conference dubbed "Euromaidan: Ukraine’s Lost Decade."

"I would like to once again point to Zelensky’s decree banning talks with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s government. Our president has repeatedly said in response to such questions from the West: 'You should compel him to rescind the decree and issue a public statement about it.' The ball is not in our court and everyone is well aware of that," Lavrov said.

In 2022, Zelensky enacted a decision made by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which categorically ruled out talks with Putin.