There can be no talk about negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference, RBC has reported.

“There can be no talk of negotiations with Zelensky, well, at least because he is legally forbidden to negotiate with the Russian government,” he said.

Lavrov said Russia is ready to respond to “any serious proposals,” but has not seen any so far.

“[After the Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in March] Ukraine was slapped on the wrist and said, ‘It’s early.’ And since then, many times after the spring of the previous year – all summer, in the early fall – Western official representatives have been saying in every possible way that it is too early to start negotiations, Ukraine should be given more weapons so that it starts negotiations from strong positions,” the foreign minister said.

After the referendums on the annexation of new territories to Russia in late September, Zelensky said that Ukraine would not negotiate as long as Vladimir Putin remained the Russian president. He signed a decree saying that it was not possible to negotiate with Putin.