After appeals for peace at the Africa summit in St Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday reiterated his willingness to negotiate over Ukraine.
"We have said several times, I have officially communicated, that we are ready for these negotiations," he said.
However, Russia had no way of forcing either side into such talks.
The reason Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour were the "security threats to Russia from the US and NATO," Putin said at a plenary session with representatives of African states.
Putin, who plans to meet more African leaders later on Friday, said Russia was grateful for the peace initiative launched by African states at the summit.
Western countries repeatedly accuse Putin of not taking serious interest in negotiations and undermining Ukraine's sovereignty.
The warring parties recently declared that they will settle the conflict on the battlefield, with Ukraine fighting to free its territories from Russian occupation with military help from NATO countries.
Mychaylo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office, called Putin's statement the traditional "negotiating whine."
Negotiations were pointless, "because Russia is undermining international law and the global security order," he continued.
Russia started a major bloody war, unprovoked, he said.
"What is there to talk about and with whom?" he asked on Twitter.
"If Moscow wants to negotiate, the path is clear. 1. Get out of Ukraine. 2. Change the political elite. 3. Admit war crimes. 4. Extradite the authors of the war to the tribunal," he continued.
