Kiev's actions do not facilitate contacts between Putin and Zelensky — Kremlin aide

KAZAN, June 18. /TASS/. Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has emphasized that recent actions by the Kiev regime – including the attack on a Belarusian bus carrying children in the Bryansk Region – do not facilitate the development of personal contacts between Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky.

Speaking to the Vesti news program on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit, Ushakov stated, "None of this advances the prospect of direct engagement between the head of the Kiev regime and our president."

In this way he responded to a question whether Russia remains committed to negotiations, given all of Kiev's actions, including the attack on the bus carrying children and the attacks on Moscow. Ushakov also recalled that Putin "has repeatedly spoken out" about the prospects for negotiations with Kiev.