MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that achieving a just peace in Ukraine would be impossible if Kyiv lost its neutrality by joining a bloc such as the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said peace talks can only begin if Kyiv agrees to abandon large swaths of territory claimed by Moscow and drops its bid to join NATO.

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Zakharova, speaking about reports that the West was discussing an option in which Ukraine could join NATO in return for accepting Russian control over a swathe of Ukrainian territory, said that achieving a just peace in Ukraine would be impossible without ensuring that Ukraine’s status was neutral and non-aligned.

Zakharova said that what Moscow calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine was a reaction to NATO’s eastward expansion.