Putin: Zelenskyy welcome in Moscow to discuss relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine on Thursday for destroying bilateral relations but said that if his Ukrainian counterpart wants to restore them, he would be welcome in Moscow.

Speaking during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Putin accused Ukraine of "efforts to essentially destroy" the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as its attitudes toward Russian speakers in Ukraine.

Putin then said that he would be responsive to overtures from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy offered to meet Putin in Donbas to defuse tensions.

Putin responded to the remarks Thursday, saying that if the Ukrainian leadership wants to settle the conflict in Donbas, it should first engage in talks with separatist leaders in the east and only after that discuss it with Russia and come to Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian leader said his Ukrainian counterpart needed "to learn how to behave himself diplomatically".

Earlier this month, Ukraine's deputy prime minister said the country would no longer send a delegation to Minsk for talks as part of the Trilateral Contact Group, saying that Belarus was under the influence of Moscow.

Lukashenko Thursday called the suggestion "stupidity," adding that the sides were free to choose another country to host the talks.

Putin called the suggestion an attempt to "find a reason to avoid having to discuss the problem of Donbas" and to bury the Minsk agreements.