Moscow "will not talk" to Ukraine amid Kyiv's ongoing incursion into Russian territory, a Kremlin spokesperson said Monday.
Kyiv sent troops over the border on Aug. 6 and has since held onto a part of the Kursk region, going on the attack in an offensive that has rattled Moscow.
"At the current stage, given this escapade, we will not talk," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told the Russian Shot Telegram channel, adding that "at the moment it would be completely inappropriate to enter into a negotiating process."
Asked when possible talks could begin between the two sides, he said: "I don't know, everything depends on the situation on the battlefield, including in the Kursk region."
Ukraine's operation, planned in utter secrecy, is an unprecedented incursion onto Russian soil and the biggest attack since Moscow launched the full-scale conflict in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the operation was aimed at putting "more pressure" on Russia in order to bring peace "closer."
Earlier Sunday, Russia denied a report that it engaged in talks with Ukraine regarding civilian infrastructure.
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate a landmark agreement to halt strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both sides.
The Post said the agreement would have amounted to a partial cease-fire but the talks were derailed due to Ukraine's attack on Russian sovereign territory.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry, responded to the Post report, saying, "No one broke anything off because there was nothing to break off."
Zakharova added, "There have been no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kyiv regime on the safety of civilian critical infrastructure facilities." The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Post reported that Ukraine's presidential office said the summit in Doha had been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and would now take place via videoconference on Aug. 22.
Russia and Ukraine have both accused each other of targeting civilian infrastructure during the war. Both sides deny these accusations.
Zakharova then quoted President Vladimir Putin, who on Aug. 12 questioned what talks could occur with Ukraine after its ground attack on Russia and what he called attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.
Zakharova said, "There is nothing to talk about with people who unleash such things."
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in Feb. 2022 in what it calls a "special military operation" and now controls about 18% of the country.
Ukraine's cross-border strike into the Kursk region on Aug. 6 was the first military incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
