MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/: Russia currently sees no opportunity to engage with Ukraine because of Kiev’s position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"We have been saying that we are not dodging negotiations not because we have been imploring them to negotiate. At the moment, we see no chance for holding talks, but we have simply been underscoring this amid a non-stop wave of statements to the effect of `how bad it is that Russia is reluctant to engage’," Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview with the "Bolshaya Igra" ("The Great Game") public affairs program on Channel One television.
"Has anyone read what [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky has been saying? Does anyone remember the decree he signed back in September banning any talks?", Russia’s top diplomat wondered as he referred to Zelensky’s refusal to negotiate with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"You must have heard the latest statements. (CIA Director - TASS) Bill Burns for some reason said yesterday that Russia shows no signs of backing down. Well, is Zelensky showing signs of backing down?", Lavrov asked rhetorically. According to the Russian foreign minister, Zelensky stated simultaneously with Burns that he would never sit down at the negotiating table with Putin, that Ukraine would have its victory no matter what, and that he had allies elsewhere and other venues where he would decide his country’s future.
