Russia's Foreign Ministry outlines conditions for talks with Ukraine

Russia is ready for substantial negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict settlement based on the 2022 Istanbul agreements, Alexey Polishchuk, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, told TASS.

The diplomat noted that in order to launch the negotiations it is necessary to resolve the legal aspects of the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his decree that banned Kyiv’s negotiations with Moscow.

"The Russian side is open to realistic proposals and is ready for substantial negotiations," Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.

"It has been repeatedly noted that a peaceful settlement is possible on the basis of the 2022 Istanbul agreement, which referred to the neutral non-aligned nuclear-free status of Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification, the non-deployment of foreign troops and bases on its soil, considering modern territorial realities and the eradication of all root causes that led to the Ukrainian crisis," he said.

"Moreover, all legal aspects regarding Zelenskyy's illegitimacy and his decree banning bilateral talks must be resolved before the negotiations could be launched," the diplomat added.

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