The announcement comes from Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who announces that Washington and Moscow “exchange signals via secret channels.
The State Department did not specify whether the contacts are with the current or incoming administration in Washington, but Ryabkov said Russia is willing to consider proposals as long as these “are ideas about how to move forward on issues of settlements, and not about how all possible aid must be able to be pumped to Kiev”.
Moscow thus stands by the announcement that areas occupied by the Russian military in Ukraine should not be included in the negotiations.