"We are grateful to everyone. There were many such initiatives. It seems to me that a month ago there were already about 30 [initiatives] that were made by public figures through state channels or even in some private way," she said on the sidelines of the second Russia-Africa summit.
Zakharova stressed that Russia never refused negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict settlement, TASS reported.
"Even when we understood that they [negotiations] were unlikely to bring any added value, but we always gave such a chance to partners or the situation in general," she explained.
However, as Zakharova pointed out, in April 2022, "the Kiev regime withdrew from the negotiations, it asked for."
"Several rounds took place, and then they stopped responding to the documents and materials that we sent at their request. <…> And in September, they themselves were legally banned from negotiating with our country," she added.
Speaking about the African Peace Initiative on Ukraine, Zakharova pointed to the sincerity of African countries' attempts to help resolve the crisis.
The second Russia-Africa Summit, along with an economic and humanitarian forum, took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on July 27-28.
SKH/PR