Russia claims several countries are ready to negotiate on Ukraine.
The main question is not where Russia can negotiate, but rather "with whom can it negotiate and reach an agreement, and on what issues?"
According to TASS on February 4th, Alexei Polishchuk, head of the Department for CIS Countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated in an interview that many countries have expressed their desire to become the platform for future negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
When asked whether Russia had received any specific proposals from countries willing to hold talks on Ukraine on their territory, Foreign Minister Polishchuk said: "We are not lacking in such proposals. Several countries have previously provided a platform for negotiations, first and foremost our ally Belarus."
Polischuk added that Russia is very grateful to its partners for their willingness to provide a mediating venue and act as a bridge. However, the main question now is not where the negotiations will take place, but with whom and on what issues it is possible to negotiate and reach an agreement.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated their readiness to negotiate a resolution to the conflict. At the same time, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that the main obstacles are the inability to negotiate due to the ban imposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Ukrainian initiatives that demonstrate Kyiv's complete detachment from current reality.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that Zelensky's legitimacy had ended, so it was important to understand who to negotiate with in Kyiv to sign legally binding documents. Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stressed that negotiations with Ukraine were possible, but the results had to be approved by the legitimate government of Ukraine.
According to TASS, US President Donald Trump will have a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping within the next 48 hours.
"President Trump said in the Oval Office that it would happen in the next few days," White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters on February 3 (Washington time).
