Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, stated that all preparatory work for a meeting between the Kremlin leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet been completed.
At the same time, Putin allegedly believes that such a meeting is possible when all issues are resolved at the expert level, writes UNN with reference to Russian media.
Details
All preparatory work for such a meeting has not yet been done. I want to remind you that the president himself does not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting after the necessary part of the work has been done and the proper distance has been covered at the expert level.
Addition
Russian officials are delaying top-level negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Russia is only feigning interest in negotiations to buy time.
The Russian side proposed to Ukraine to create three working groups after the completion of negotiations in Istanbul. The Ukrainian delegation, according to Medinsky, is considering this proposal.