Russian Ambassador affirms Ukraine will not create buffer zone in Kursk province
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov commented on August 23 that Kiev will not be able to create some kind of "buffer zone" on Russian territory.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelensky declared that the purpose of Ukraine's attack on Kursk province was to create a "buffer zone" on Russian territory.
“This is impossible… there will be no buffer zone on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Antonov told reporters. Asked about the US not explicitly rejecting such a statement from Kiev, Ambassador Antonov said: “The US is not in a position to judge what Russia should do and how Russia will protect its borders. We will not even discuss this issue with them.”
The Russian diplomat also said that Washington representatives had not approached Moscow to propose contacts, and that a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart Antony Blinken should not be expected during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly.
Asked by Russian media about the possibility of holding the meeting, Mr. Antonov shared: “Okay, you tell me what to discuss with them... We are not interrupting our contacts with the United States. We are not running away from them, but we are not running after them. If there are some topics for discussion between the two sides, of course, I am sure that the Russian side will consider the proposal to meet. So far, I have never said never, and so far no proposal has been made, at least for our embassy.”
In addition, Mr. Antonov believes that the time will come when the US will remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine. Ambassador Antonov assessed that a serious dialogue with the US will only become possible if Washington ends its "hostile" policy towards Moscow, including supporting Ukraine and implementing
sanctions against Russia. The Russian ambassador also stated that Moscow has no plans to interfere in the US presidential election.