Russia is ready to send diplomats to Minsk for talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
According to the Interfax news agency, Peskkov said
Vladimir Putin was ready to send officials from the Kremlin, defence and foreign affairs ministries for talks in the Belarusian capital to discuss “the neutral status of Ukraine”, adding that Ukraine’s “demilitarisation and denazification” were an essential part of this neutral status.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier in the day urged
Russia to start negotiations, although it is unclear under which terms he would be ready to talk.
Putin’s entirely unfounded claim that Ukraine is under Nazi rule is a key part of the Kremlin’s justification for war.
As Russia has just sent a massive invading army into Ukraine, the latest announcement is been treated with scepticism by Moscow reporters.
The Kremlin statement came not long after foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was only prepared to talk once Ukrainians “put down their arms”, suggesting, perhaps, some confusion over the Russian government’s intentions.