A look from the Russian side:
Comments from Putin at BRICS Summit
Ukraine has approached Russia twice with proposals through Turkish mediation but subsequently walked back its initiatives. "When we agreed, it turned out that the Ukrainian side had already withdrawn. This happened twice," he revealed.
He explained this episode further as follows
"We agreed to it, and the next day [Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky] publicly announced that he will not negotiate anything," the president said. "This is irrational behavior, which is hard to predict. No plans can be based on this foundation. So there is no sense in discussing whether we would reach an agreement and what it would be," Putin explained
He also warned that Russia "must conduct its special military operation with full commitment and dismiss any notions of the enemy’s fatigue."
Putin tried to bat down the accusations of Western officials and media reports which portray him as intentionally isolating Moscow from any dialogue. He said he has "never shunned contacts" on the diplomatic front.
"When we hear… that I avoid talking to some European leaders, let me tell you: that is a lie," he
stressed. "We did not reject and are not rejecting anything. If somebody wants to renew relations with us, they are welcome. We reiterated that, but we do not impose ourselves.