Denying Reports Of Indirect Talks With Ukraine, Spokesperson For The Russian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs: No Negotiations

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - Russia on Sunday denied reports that Ukraine's attacks on the Kursk region had thwarted indirect talks with Kyiv to stop attacks on energy and electricity targets, saying there was no talk with Kyiv about civilian infrastructure facilities.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Ukraine and Russia would send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate an important agreement to stop attacks on the energy and electric infrastructure of the two warring parties.

The Post said the agreement would be a partial ceasefire, but the talks were thwarted due to Ukraine's attack on Russia's sovereign territory.

"Nothing has canceled anything because nothing needs to be canceled," said Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, on the report.

"There are no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kyiv regime on the safety of critical civilian infrastructure facilities," he stressed.

The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Post reported that Ukraine's Presidential Office said the summit in Doha had been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and would take place in a video conference format on August 22.

Both Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of attacking civilian infrastructure in the war. Both denied having made alleged accusations.

Zakharova then cited President Vladimir Putin's statement that on August 12 questioned what talks might have been made with Ukraine, following his ground attack on Russia and what he said was an attack on Russia's civilian infrastructure.

"There's nothing to talk about with people doing things like that," Zakharova said.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two and a half years ago and now controls about 18 percent of its territory in the east and south.

On August 6, Ukraine carried out cross-border attacks with tank-backed soldiers and armored vehicles on Russia's Kursk territory. It became the first military attack on Russian territory since World Parang II. Last week, Ukriana Military Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said they had opened a military office in Kursk headed by Major General Eduard Moskalyov.