President Putin Reaffirms Russia's Readiness To Be Dialogued With Ukraine

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow's readiness to negotiate with Kyiv as war in Ukraine continues, on the sidelines of a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors on Tuesday.

"I have said more than once that Russia is not only ready to negotiate but has held such talks at certain points, particularly at the beginning of this conflict," he said, launching TASS November 5.

"The talks even resulted in mutually acceptable agreements, which are initialed by the Ukrainian side," he continued.

"But the Ukrainian side rejected the agreement on the advice of the external side, as confirmed by Ukrainian officials," President Putin recalled.

Nearly three hours of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, Turkey on March 29, 2022, resulted in principles for potential deals, including Ukraine's commitment to maintaining neutral and impartial status, as well as its pledge to refrain from the deployment of foreign weapons, including nuclear weapons, in its territory.

However, after Russia withdrew its troops from the Kiev and Chernigov regions, the settlement talks were frozen.

According to President Putin, Kyiv rejected the agreement. Ukraine claims the refusal was carried out on the advice of the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.