MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has rejected Minsk’s initiative for Belarus to take part in future talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict.

In a statement on Telegram, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it was "surprised" at Minsk’s idea.

On Monday, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Ambrazevich said that Minsk was eager to take part in future peace talks on Ukraine, and final agreements should take Belarus’ interests into account. He pointed out that from the very beginning, Belarus had been taking steps to prevent an escalation of violence in Ukraine and it was important for Minsk to receive security guarantees. Ambrazevich emphasized that "Belarus is, more than anyone else, interested in resolving the conflict peacefully as soon as possible."

Moscow has repeatedly stressed that Russia does not refuse to settle the conflict around Ukraine through political and diplomatic means. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier set forth the conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine, which include Ukraine withdrawing troops from Donbass and Novorossiya and abandoning plans to join NATO. Moscow also believes that all Western sanctions on Russia must be removed and Ukraine’s non-bloc and non-nuclear status must be guaranteed. However, Kiev rejects these conditions.