Russia says it has not received proposal from Türkiye on hosting Ukraine peace talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia has not received a proposal from Türkiye about hosting talks between Moscow and Western countries on ending the war in Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.

"Russia has not received through diplomatic channels any concrete proposals to hold talks on the territory of Türkiye between Moscow, Berlin, Washington, London and Paris,” said Zakharova, speaking at a press briefing.

She added, however, that the situation is developing dynamically and may change quickly.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the topic of organizing a dialogue between Russia and the West in Türkiye may be raised at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that will take place this week in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

On the European Union’s efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Zakharova said Brussels is trying to drive a wedge in the process to oust Russia.

Brussels prefers not to think about the consequences of steps for regional stability in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, she noted, adding history shows that the EU’s efforts have never led to the real settlement of conflicts.

Turning to Afghanistan, Zakharova said the West had been destroying the country for years and in the end stole its money.

"We strongly urge Westerners to fully unblock the accounts of the (Afghan) Central Bank as soon as possible. We believe that such half-measures are the creation of an Afghan Trust Fund from stolen funds...All these half-measures are hypocritical. They are insufficient for a full-scale reconstruction of the Afghan economy and infrastructure," she stressed.

Commenting on a decision by Ukraine's Security Service to put her on a wanted list, Zakharova said there is no need to look for her, as her location is well-known.

She warned that such methods may be applied to anyone.

"Aren't you afraid that there is a regime in the center of Europe that professes extremism and terrorism as a state ideology? Do you think they'll ever stop?" she said.

Zakharova reminded that Kyiv has rejected all diplomatic means for settling the conflict and instead chose methods of force.

"Look at what happened to other zones of American experiments, which first created monsters, and then these monsters got out of Washington's control. May I remind you how Al Qaeda came to be? Remind you of (Osama) Bin Laden? Should I remind you how ISIS appeared?" she said.

Everyone thought it would only affect those whom these extremists and terrorists threatened and then everyone experienced the consequences of their activities, she said.

Asked whether the recent blast on the bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula with Russia will affect the extension of the Turkish-brokered grain deal between Russia and Ukraine, Zakharova said it affects more important issues.

She also said that the US is sending conflicting signals to Russia, acting bellicose and inviting them to a dialogue at the same time.

As for Russia, she said she cannot voice all signals that Moscow sends to Washington.