"The Kiev regime, which resorted to terrorist attacks on Russian territory, wants to force Moscow to stop the peace settlement negotiations". This was stated to "Izvestia" by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik.
"The main goal of the terrorist attacks organized by Kiev is to force Russia to stop the negotiations. Because negotiations for Zelensky and his entourage are like death," the diplomat noted.
„Terrorist attacks always create information pressure and an extremely negative atmosphere around the negotiations. After all, first of all, this characterizes the organizers of these terrorist attacks as a party that, in principle, does not want to achieve a result in the negotiations. This shows that they are participating in the negotiations not because they want peace or a settlement of the crisis, but because they are under some external pressure“, added Miroshnik.
There is no discussion of replacing Istanbul with another venue for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, said Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko.
"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov very clearly expressed our point of view. Istanbul is a place where a certain experience in communication has already been accumulated“, he said.
Grushko noted that “the question is not in the places, but in the essence“. “Therefore, now the question of choosing some new venue in a practical sense is not worth it. It is not even worth thinking about“, the high-ranking diplomat emphasized.