Dhaka, Feb. 15 -- The Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Aleksandr Mantytsky says he hopes Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not affect the Russo-Bangla relations.

"We highly appreciate the balanced policy of your country, of your PM, of your government on this Ukraine issue. I hope that it will continue in future," Mantytsky said during a discussion organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh, or DCAB, on Thursday.

Bangladesh has not directly condemned or criticised Russia since it instigated the war in Ukraine in February 2022, despite the country's anti-war stance amid global polarisation.

The Bangladesh government has spoken of maintaining a 'neutral' ...