“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,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

Zakharova claimed Russia has never refused negotiations on war in Ukraine. “Even when we understood that they were unlikely to bring any added value, we always gave such a chance to partners or the situation in general,” Zakharova said.

However, “the Kiev regime withdrew from the negotiations it had asked for” in April 2022, Zakharova said. “Several rounds took place, and then they stopped responding to the documents and materials that we sent at their request. In September, they were legally banned from negotiating with our country,” she said.

“We are extremely grateful to our African friends for the fact that they really – not in words, but in deeds – value peace and want to do everything in their power, even without being in any way participants in all this long-term drama, but, indeed, having open hearts and understanding what this can globally lead to and is already leading to,” Zakharova said.