President Wiliam Ruto has reiterated that there will be no handshake between him and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Ruto maintained that the bi-partisan talks will only feature an engagement in Parliament.
"There will be no handshake. But there will be an engagement in Parliament on the issues that have been raised," he affirmed.
The President was responding to a question posed by the media during a joint press with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Tuesday.
Ruto is on a visit to Rwanda attending the 9th session of the Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC).
He said a handshake between the opposition and government, during Former President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime, resulted in an undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal outfit.
"We are a democracy and in a democracy, it is underpinned by a system of checks and balances where we have a government and an opposition," Ruto added.
He said he was a great believer in a system of government and opposition, adding that it was the only way to hold an executive and a government to account.
Holding the state to account, Ruto said, works for everybody including the citizens, government and opposition, as they become part of the success of the country.
On Monday, Ruto met the Kenya Kwanza parliamentary leadership team to discuss the way forward, in relation to the bi-partisan approach.
"We are convinced that the issues shall be conclusively handled by Parliament to allow us to focus on our economic transformation programme," he said.
The Star learnt that the President and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua refused to entertain the notion of any compromise for a hybrid government when they spoke to various emissaries last week.
Speaking on Tuesday, opposition chief Raila Odinga refuted any claims of Handshake.
He said he was only interested in settling the issues addressed by the Azimio outfit.
"We have never talked about the handshake. That is the language that has been coming from the other side. It is them that have been saying these people want Handshake and Nusu Mkate. Take it to Mr Gachagua, I do not want even to shake his hands," he said.
