“The text was actually ready. (…) And then, suddenly, the Ukrainian side disappeared from the radar, (it) announced that it no longer wanted to continue the talks”, lamented Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin considered it “obvious” that “such a rejection of previously agreed agreements was expressly at the behest of Washington”.

“It’s quite obvious,” he told the press.

On Wednesday, the current president of ECOWAS, Bissau-Guinea Umaro Sissoko Embalo, said in Kyiv that Vladimir Putin, whom he had visited the day before, “expressed the view that he is ready to hold talks with President Zelensky”. .

Asked about these comments, Mr Peskov assured that Russia is “ready to guarantee its interests at the negotiating table”.

“We want it, but in this specific case we are talking about total reluctance on the part of Ukraine”, he regretted, adding that there was “no specific message” for the Ukrainian presidency.

Volodymyr Zelensky immediately dismissed any possibility of discussions with Moscow, condemning Vladimir Putin’s “prepared rhetoric”.

He was even more outspoken in late September, assuring that Ukraine would not negotiate with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is president.

Talks between Kyiv and Moscow have been stalled since March, with both sides blaming each other for the standoff.