Moscow (Times Of Ocean)- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russia does not trust Ukrainian peace negotiators.
As she discussed the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in an interview with the state-run Rossiya 24 channel, Zakharova said the principle “trust but verify” no longer applies to the talks since Ukrainian negotiators must be verified constantly.
“Trust and verify are no longer valid here because there has been no trust in these people for a long time,” the spokeswoman said.
In the meantime, she said, Russia is prepared for Ukraine to behave inconsistently during the negotiations.
According to her, Kyiv’s approach to talks with Russia is similar to its approach to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
“The classic scheme, which says the regime is not independent, but controlled, and secondly, negotiation is used as a distraction,” she said.
Approximately 2,072 civilians have been killed and 2,818 injured in Ukraine so far in the war, according to UN estimates, with the actual number likely much higher.
UNHCR says more than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries and another 7 million have been internally displaced.