Putin says Russia has not rejected dialogue with Europe

Alsharq Tribune-Otaify 

Russia has not rejected dialogue with European countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

At a meeting with the heads of major international news agencies attending the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said Europe's assistance to Ukraine undermines its neutrality as a mediator in the peace negotiations.

"It's one thing to take part in the negotiations, and quite another to be a mediator," he said.

Despite this, Russia is not refusing contact with Europe, Putin said, adding that he was surprised to hear rhetoric of "a spiteful Russia" that stopped supplying energy to Europe.

Russia had not stopped supplying energy to Europe, but "Europe simply refused to buy, hoping that everything would collapse for us," he said.

Commenting on possible candidates for talks with Russia, Putin said Moscow was not imposing anything, but they should be people Russia can trust. He added that such discussions could take place at the level of foreign ministries or the intelligence services.