MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. Russia before launching a special military operation in Ukraine urged the Kiev authorities to withdraw troops from Donbass, thus resolving the conflict in the region, but Kiev rejected this message, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry.

"We called upon the Kiev authorities to withdraw their troops from Donbass. There were negotiations and we told them right away: remove your troops from there, and everything will stop. That proposal was rejected offhand," he said.

Putin stressed that on February 24, 2022, Russia was forced to start a special military operation in Ukraine. He stressed that Moscow continued to consider a diplomatic solution as a priority. He recalled that at the initial stage Russia agreed to negotiate with the Kiev authorities. It insisted on respecting the choice of the residents of Donbass, the withdrawal of Kiev’s troops and the cessation of bombardments of peaceful cities. The other issues, according to Putin, were supposed to be resolved at later dates.

"The answer was: no, we will go on fighting," Putin recalled.

The first talks between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation were held in early March 2022 in Belarus. They did not bring tangible results. On March 29, 2022, another round followed in Istanbul, when Moscow first received from Kiev the principles for a possible future agreement on paper. It included, among other things, Ukraine’s commitments to a neutral, non-aligned status and its pledge not to host foreign weapons, including nuclear weapons, on its territory. Ukraine unilaterally interrupted the negotiations.