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Prospects for contact between Putin, Ukrainian president remain unclear — Kremlin

So far, there is still no clarity about a possible agenda for such contacts, Dmitry Peskov explained

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Prospects for contacts between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine remain unclear, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the Russian leader was open to dialogue.

"No, things aren’t clear yet," he said in response to a TASS question about the possibility of contacts between Putin and Zelensky.

Peskov pointed out that Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office Dmitry Kozak "maintains contact with the Ukrainian Presidential Office."

"So far, there is still no clarity about a possible agenda for such contacts because it’s hard to link bilateral issues with the important international project Nord Stream 2, as well as about any potential decisions that could be made following this kind of contact. No understanding on that has emerged yet," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

"However, President Putin remains open for dialogue and we are interested in dialogue," he added. "Still, any dialogue should be, first, clear, second, well-prepared, and third, aimed at achieving a specific result," Peskov specified.

Zelensky said on Wednesday that he sought to take advantage of the situation around Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in order to hold talks with Putin. In a recent phone call with US President Joe Biden, Zelensky also confirmed his willingness to hold direct talks with the Russian leader. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Nord Stream 2 was a purely commercial project that Russia is implementing together with its European partners.

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Ukraine Vladimir Putin Vladimir Zelensky

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