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Russia not to deviate 'one bit' from its main conditions in talks on Ukraine — speaker

"Certainly, the negotiation process will begin next year, without any doubt, but in my opinion it will be very complex," Valentina Matviyenko stressed
Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko Alexander Scherbak/TASS
Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko
© Alexander Scherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Talks on settling the Ukraine conflict will definitely start next year, they will not be easy and Russia is ready for compromises yet with the strict observance of its main terms voiced earlier, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told journalists.

"Certainly, the negotiation process will begin next year, without any doubt, but in my opinion it will be very complex," she said.

"No doubt, one must seek compromises in any talks but with the strict observance of the main terms voiced by Russia. <...> And Istanbul agreements that were undermined, had the foundation, the basis of our approaches. I am not going to reiterate them, you know them perfectly well. Now, this is the constant element, we will not yield on this one bit," Matviyenko added.

She also emphasized that the president had repeatedly voiced Russia’s terms, including at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s board meeting in June. "We are ready to sit down at the negotiating table at any moment. But what we went through with the Minsk Agreements won’t be repeated," the Federation Council speaker concluded.

On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the country’s conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass and Novorossiya, and Ukraine renouncing its NATO membership ambitions. Moscow also insists that all Western sanctions on Russia be lifted and that Ukraine’s non-alignment and non-nuclear status be guaranteed. Kiev rejected the Russian peace plan.