Iran Press/ Europe: There could be a better chance for dialogue on Ukraine, if Kyiv is given instructions from "certain capitals," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday.
"I can reiterate that we are open to dialogue without any preconditions. And we have been ready for some time," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, when asked if Russia would be ready to discuss Ukraine with the United States. "On instructions from its Western patrons, Kyiv broke off the dialogue which in general was progressing, and a certain document was in the works. Now these are things of the past. And what comes next no longer depends on us," he emphasized, according to the state Russian news agency TASS.
The Russian diplomat also said: "I can certainly share my opinion here that if Kyiv is given an order from certain capitals, there would perhaps be a better chance for such dialogue. But then again, we do not have any obstacles over here and there should be no preconditions for dialogue."
On Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was unaware of whether reports that the White House had allegedly asked the Kyiv government to demonstrate it is ready for talks with Moscow were authentic. On Tuesday, another Russian deputy foreign minister, Andrey Rudenko, said Russia and the United States were not in talks on Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was still willing to hold talks on Ukraine and that Russian officials would be ready to listen to their Western colleagues if they initiated a de-escalation discussion with due regard taken for Moscow’s interests. Meanwhile, Peskov has said that any negotiations should be primarily held with Washington, since Kyiv has been acting "on external orders."
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