Zelensky's office assessed the prospects of negotiations with Russia

The head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (whose term expired on May 20), Andriy Yermak, said in an interview with The Telegraph published on the publication's YouTube channel that he does not look pessimistically at negotiations with Russia.

"You said I am pessimistic about the negotiations, no, I am not pessimistic," he reportedly said.

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to welcome all mediation efforts to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

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The Wall Street Journal, citing a source, also reported on the same day that the Ukrainian side is ready to start negotiations on a sustainable peace with Russia. The piece notes that "conflict-weary Ukraine" is ready for a ceasefire if it is allowed to join NATO.

Before that, on December 3, The New York Times reported that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged the Ukrainian leadership to postpone negotiations with Russia until more military aid is received to allow Kiev to engage in dialog "on strong positions." The next day, Peskov noted in a conversation with Izvestia that there were no grounds for negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin named the conditions for negotiations on Ukraine at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry back in June. Thus, Ukrainian troops should leave the territories of the new regions of the Russian Federation and Kiev should give up the idea of NATO integration.

The last round of negotiations took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4 of the same year, the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the impossibility of holding talks with Putin was put into effect.