Will 'consider' meeting Lavrov if he requests - Ukraine FM

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that he would "thoroughly consider" meeting his Russian counterpart Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov upon the latter's request, adding that it will be assessed based on current circumstances.

"He [Lavrov] did not ask for a meeting as is usual in diplomacy; if he does, we will thoroughly consider his request, taking into account all aspects and the reality of the current situation," Kuleba stated.

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Earlier last week, The Washington Post reported that US President Joe Biden's administration is secretly pressing Kiev to demonstrate a willingness to negotiate with Moscow.

Washington does not want Ukraine to start negotiations with Russia but rather to reassure Kiev it has the support of other countries, according to the newspaper.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko stated earlier this week that Kiev must show good faith regarding negotiations with Russia and that Moscow is not setting any preconditions on talks with Ukraine.

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The Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Moscow is "open for contacts," however Kiev "has codified the non-continuation of negotiations."

In late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was still open to talks with Kiev and called on Ukraine to stop the hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, stated that Kiev was ready for dialogue with Moscow, but only if another president came to power in Russia.

Last October, following the accession of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions into the Russian Federation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree prohibiting any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and declaring them "impossible".

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