The Kremlin announced in a statement that Putin stated that Russian-Ukraine negotiations are on ice during talks with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.
"The leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine. Putin, in particular, shared his opinion on the negotiation process between [the] Russian and Ukrainian sides, which was basically suspended by Kyiv, as it does not show interest in a serious and constructive dialogue", an official statement read.
Moscow and Kyiv held several rounds of talks after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine without reaching any kind of agreement.
Meanwhile, Finnish President's office announced that he spoke with his Russian counterpart on Saturday regarding the Nordic country’s application for NATO membership, which is expected to be officially announced this weekend.
“The conversation was direct and straightforward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was quoted as saying in a statement by his office. “The phone call was initiated by Finland.”
Finland “wants to take care of the practical questions arising from being a neighbor of Russia in a correct and professional manner,” Niinisto said.
The Finnish president and Prime Minister Sanna Marin had said on Thursday that they wanted the country to join NATO “without delay” and that a membership bid was expected to be announced on Sunday.
Moscow responded by saying it would “definitely” see Finnish membership as a threat and that Moscow would be “forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats.”
Neighboring Sweden, like Finland, is also expected to announce its own membership bid in the coming days.
After Finland’s NATO membership bid is officially announced on Sunday, it will be discussed by parliament on Monday.
ZZ/PR