VIENNA, November 7. /TASS/. The Ukrainian conflict can be settled only at the negotiating table, but the time for this has not yet come, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said at a press conference with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky.

"I think we all agree that peace can only be achieved at the negotiating table. But we have not gotten to that point yet," the minister said.

He said that any efforts to foster a dialogue should be viewed positively, stressing the negotiations in Turkey and Belarus. "But there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine. Any negotiations require two sides, so far they have not come to that. There is a lack of trust in the region," the minister added. Meanwhile, he did not answer the journalist's question whether Austria was ready to provide a platform for the talks, being a neutral country.

TASS earlier reported, citing a diplomatic source, that Turkey was ready to organize peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if these countries show the corresponding political will. Turkish and Russian Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin held talks in Sochi on September 5, discussing the Ukrainian crisis. At the meeting, the Turkish leader reiterated his country's readiness to continue acting as a mediator, including on such matters as the exchange of prisoners. According to him, Turkey was ready to contribute when the sides asked for it. In March 2022, Moscow and Kiev held talks in Istanbul. Then, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there were no significant breakthroughs.