The Kremlin said today that there are no grounds yet for peace talks on Ukraine, although Moscow remains open to such initiatives, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that at this stage there are no concrete plans for high-level meetings to discuss a potential peace agreement with representatives from Washington or Kiev.
He said this before the start of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Peskov added that the possibility of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky has also not changed.
"If Zelensky wants, he can come to Moscow. "The necessary guarantees for his security will be provided to him," the Kremlin spokesman emphasized, indicating that the Ukrainian president is aware of what decisions (from Moscow's point of view) he must make.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that it is unacceptable for such a meeting to take place in Moscow and have suggested that direct negotiations take place in a neutral country, Reuters recalls.