Matvienko said she sees no prerequisites for negotiations with Ukraine

There are no prerequisites for the start of the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine, said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council.

“We have repeatedly stated that we can only talk about negotiations while recognizing the realities that exist today. Otherwise, we do not see the possibility of starting negotiations, ”she noted, adding that there are no prerequisites for the negotiation process now (quote according to RIA Novosti).

Since the beginning of hostilities, the parties have held negotiations several times. The first three face-to-face meetings took place in Belarus in February-March, and the fourth round of the Russian-Ukrainian dialogue was held on March 29 in Istanbul. Later, the process was frozen, as Ukraine withdrew from it, and President Volodymyr Zelensky legislated that negotiations could not be resumed while Vladimir Putin was president of Russia.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly spoken about Ukraine’s unwillingness to negotiate with Russia. At the end of November, the Kremlin representative declaredthat negotiations between the two countries are now impossible, since they are denied by the Ukrainian side. Then Peskov added that in order to resume dialogue, Ukraine must not only repeal the law refusing to negotiate with Moscow, but also show political will. According to him, Kyiv must show readiness to discuss Russia’s demands, “which are well known.”

In early December, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again urged to a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis, the condition of which should be the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine.