ANKARA

Russia's foreign minister said Moscow is not ruling out negotiations with Kyiv, but the delay by the Ukrainian side could complicate the possibility.

President Vladimir Putin conveyed Russia's position during a meeting with the State Duma and faction leaders, Russia's state-run news agency TASS reported citing an interview by Sergey Lavrov.

"The president told the meeting participants that we do not deny negotiations, but those who do should understand that the longer they postpone this process, the more difficult it will be for them to negotiate with us," Lavrov added.

He further said two days after the agreement was reached in Istanbul between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, they still could not get any information from the West about the events in Bucha.

By the end of March, the horrors in the town of Bucha, located near Kyiv, began to seep out to the rest of the world.

In the early days of April, Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said civilians in Bucha were found dead with their hands tied as Russian troops withdrew.

Andrey Nebitov, Kyiv's police chief, said during a news conference in mid-April that more than 900 bodies were counted in areas where Ukrainian forces regained control, adding that the biggest death toll was recorded in Bucha, with over 350 bodies.

International denunciation has grown since images of the carnage surfaced, drawing the condemnation of most Western leaders.

Russia has denied involvement in the atrocities in Bucha.