After the arrival of Ukrainian troops in Kherson, official Moscow made another statement about its readiness for negotiations on the end of the war.
The corresponding statement was made by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Serhiy Ryabkov.
"I can only confirm the position — we are open to dialogue without preconditions. We were ready for this before, Kyiv, on the command of its Western curators, interrupted the dialogue, which was generally moving forward; some document was being developed, but now itʼs all in the past. What happens next does not depend on us," Ryabkova is quoted by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
On November 9, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, stated that the Russians are ready to conduct negotiations with Ukraine "taking into account the realities that are emerging at the moment" (we are talking about the recognition of the annexation of Crimea and parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions). The official expressed similar theses on November 2. Sakharovaʼs statements were made when the Russian military leadership announced the withdrawal of troops from Kherson and the right bank of the Dnieper.
- On October 4, Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- On November 7, the president of Ukraine named the conditions for the start of negotiations: restoration of territorial integrity, respect for the UN Charter, compensation for damages, punishment of war criminals and guarantees that the invasion will not be repeated.