MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again reiterated Moscow’s readiness to begin negotiations with kyiv.

“I have said more than once that Russia is not only ready for talks, but has already held such talks at some point, including at the very beginning of this conflict,” he said. -he declared during the ceremony of receiving letters of credence from foreign ambassadors. “These negotiations even resulted in a mutually acceptable treaty, initialed by the Ukrainian side.”

“But the Ukrainian side rejected this treaty on the advice of external parties, as confirmed by Ukrainian officials,” the president recalled.

Nearly three hours of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on March 29, 2022 resulted in the principles of a possible agreement, including Ukraine’s commitment to maintaining a neutral, non-aligned status and its commitment to refrain from deploying foreign weapons, including nuclear weapons. , on its territory.

However, after Russia withdrew its forces from the kyiv and Chernigov regions, negotiations on a settlement were frozen. According to President Putin, kyiv rejected these agreements. The Ukrainian side claimed that the rejection was made on the advice of then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.