South Africa suggested Ukraine to invite Russia to meetings dedicated to Kiev's 10-point "peace formula," South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said.
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor noted that Russia's involvement could facilitate progress towards a more formal conflict resolution process in Ukraine.
South Africa continues to advocate a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, Pandor reiterated. Ukraine has not yet responded to the South African initiative.
In late September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov underlined that the "peace formula" is "is absolutely not realizable."
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova highlighted that this Kiev project creates the illusion of striving for peace with Russia, but includes only "force scenarios."
Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly noted that Moscow has never given up on negotiations, but that Ukraine itself banned any negotiations with Russia at the legislative level.