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Blinken says Ukraine may engage in talks if Russia shows 'interest'

Antony Blinken noted that in terms of negotiations, these are "decisions for Ukraine to make"

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

© AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

WASHINGTON, May 15. /TASS/. Ukraine may engage in negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict if Moscow shows "any interest" in a dialogue, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba in Kiev.

"If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin showed any interest in seriously engaging in negotiations, I’m sure Ukrainians will respond to that," he said, adding that Moscow was allegedly not prepared to do this.

Blinken added that in terms of negotiations, these are "decisions for Ukraine to make."

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Maria Zakharova said that Western countries were using the word ‘peace’ as a smokescreen for their genuine aspirations. She added that there were no signs that "the collective West does view peace in the region (Ukraine - TASS) as its goal."

Putin, in an interview with China’s Xinhua news agency published on the Kremlin's website on May 15, said that Russia was open to a dialogue on Ukraine to achieve peace, but the talks should take into account its interests and proceed together with discussions on global stability and reliable security guarantees. However, the Russian leader noted that he saw problems with the reliability of such guarantees on the part of the West.

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