Kiev, West Downplaying Other Initiatives by Promoting 'Zelensky’s Formula' — Russian MFA

"The original foundations of Ukraine’s sovereignty should be reaffirmed, that is, its neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status," Maria Zakharova said

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS Host Photo Agency

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS Host Photo Agency

MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. By promoting Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s "peace formula," Kiev and the West are trying to play down the initiatives of other countries, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"By promoting Zelensky’s ‘formula,’ the Kiev regime and the West are trying to downplay the great importance of initiatives put forward by other countries and monopolize the right to present them," she noted, commenting on the Jeddah meeting on Ukraine.

According to the diplomat, "Zelensky’s formula" is a meaningless ultimatum to Russia. "None of its ten points is designed to find a solution to the crisis through talks and diplomatic efforts, while all of them together make up a meaningless ultimatum to Russia, aimed at prolonging military activities. It is impossible to resolve the issue on such a basis," Zakharova added.

However, she pointed out that Russia appreciated the mediation and humanitarian initiatives coming from "our friends in the Global South." "Unlike the Kiev regime, which broke off and banned talks with Russia, we have been and remain open to resolving the crisis diplomatically, and we are ready to respond to truly serious proposals," the diplomat went on to say.

Zakharova emphasized that the Russian Foreign Ministry had taken note of the consultations on the Ukrainian crisis "that were held in the Saudi city of Jeddah on August 5-6, initiated by the Kiev regime and the Group of Seven nations."

According to her, Russia expects that its like-minded countries from the BRICS group (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) and other partners will share their evaluations of the meeting. Zakharova also stressed that without inviting Russia and "taking its interests into account, no meeting on Ukraine will have any added value at all." She noted that it was only possible to find a comprehensive, sustainable and fair solution to the conflict if "the Kiev regime puts an end to military activities and terrorist attacks, while its Western sponsors stop pumping the Ukrainian armed forces with weapons."

"The original foundations of Ukraine’s sovereignty should be reaffirmed, that is, its neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status," the Russian diplomat said. "The new territorial reality, which came to be as a result of residents of new Russian regions exercising their right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter, should be recognized," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman maintained. "There is a need to ensure the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, and the rights of its Russian-speaking citizens and ethnic minorities in accordance with the country’s domestic legislation and international laws," she added. "We are confident that the implementation of these elements is fully in line with the idea of international peace and security, which is what Russia is fighting for," Zakharova concluded.

Not all participants of Jeddah meeting fully agree with Kiev’s ‘peace formula’ — Yermak

Yermak highlighted the issue of compensating Kiev for losses from the hostilities at Moscow's expense as one of the parts of the Ukrainian "peace plan" on which full agreement was not reached at the Jeddah meeting

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. The participants of the conflict resolution meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah did not entirely agree on all points of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky's so-called peace formula, according to Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration Andrey Yermak.

"If all countries said, 'Yes, we agree on everything,' we could hold a ‘peace summit’ by the end of the month. There are points where there are no complaints, but there are other points where the conversation continues," he told i European Pravda newspaper.

Yermak highlighted the issue of compensating Kiev for losses from the hostilities at Moscow's expense as one of the parts of the Ukrainian "peace plan" on which full agreement was not reached at the Jeddah meeting.

Consultations on Ukraine, involving delegates from more than 30 world countries, were held in the Saudi city of Jeddah on August 5 and 6. Russia was not invited to take part. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian delegates exerted no pressure on other delegations to push through their "peace plan." Meanwhile, according to the DPA news agency, Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries advanced their own peace plan for Ukraine envisaging a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, the preservation of Ukraine’s integrity, and the beginning of UN-brokered peace talks.

US Department of State saying Russia refused talks on Ukraine is false — Foreign Ministry

The diplomat drew attention to the statements of Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesperson, who stated that no peace negotiations with Russia are currently underway, because Russia has refused to enter into a meaningful dialogue about peace

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. The US Department of State claiming that Russia has supposedly refused discussion on Ukraine is false, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said wrote in her Telegram channel.

The diplomat drew attention to the statements of Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesperson, who stated that no peace negotiations with Russia are currently underway, because Russia has refused to enter into a meaningful dialogue about peace.

"They know perfectly well that they told [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky to halt negotiations in April 2022, that they initiated the Kiev regime's ban on peace talks with Russia in September 2022, that they have publicly stated for a year that this is not the time for negotiations, but they still blame Russia," she said.