MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Moscow does not see any possibility for direct communication with Kiev at this point but remains open to constructive proposals on resolving the Ukraine crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who serves as Moscow’s BRICS "sherpa," said.
"We don’t see any possibility for direct communication with Kiev. However, we have repeatedly stressed that Russia has been and remains open to resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means. We welcome constructive and substantive proposals put forward by other countries, <...> as long as they take the interests of all parties into account," he pointed out at a press conference dedicated to preparations for a BRICS summit in Kazan.
Ryabkov emphasized that Russia could not turn a blind eye to blatant violations of the rights of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population. He noted that ensuring the rights of Russians in Ukraine was one of the main elements of a peace initiative put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On June 14, Putin set forth the conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine at a meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials. His terms included Ukraine withdrawing troops from Donbass and Novorossiya and abandoning plans to join NATO. In addition, Moscow said that all Western sanctions must be lifted and Ukraine’s non-bloc and non-nuclear status must be guaranteed, while Ukraine must ensure the rights, freedoms and interests of its Russian-speaking citizens. Putin noted that if Ukraine and the West turned down the initiative, the conditions might change for the worse in the future. Kiev rejected Russia’s peace plan. After the launch of a massive Ukrainian attack on Russia’s borderline Kursk Region on August 6, Putin stated that negotiations with a government targeting civilians made no sense.