“You have heard the position of the Russian president - that they are ready to meet, but the issue of Crimea is not ready to put the issue of Crimea on the agenda of this meeting.
Why then meet?
Meet to discuss what?
What topic is now more important in relations between Russia and Ukraine than Russia's occupation of certain territories of Ukraine? ”Nikiforov said.
He said that "there is a will of the President of Ukraine to meet personally with the President of Russia - at any time, anywhere within the framework of neutral territory."
At the same time, at this meeting there should be a question of "occupation by Russia of a part of the territory of Ukraine", he said.
“Therefore, the conversation and contacts about this meeting at some level are really supported, but it is imperative to ensure that this most important issue is put on the agenda, which Russia, of course, does not want,” Nikiforov said.
Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to conduct a dialogue with Zelensky, but with the exception of those issues that are useless to discuss.
Putin said that Moscow and Kiev, as neighbors, always have something to talk about, but it is most appropriate today to discuss bilateral relations, and not international security, as the Ukrainian side proposed.
The Kremlin also noted that the Russian leader is ready to discuss Crimea with the head of Ukraine only within the framework of the issue of cross-border cooperation.
At the same time, during the direct line, Putin expressed the opinion that Zelensky had given his country under full external control, but stressed that, nevertheless, he did not refuse meetings of this kind, if it was clear what to talk about.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum in March 2014, in which a majority of residents voted in favor of reunification with Russia.