Comments by Russia’s FM come as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says security guarantees needed before Putin meeting.
Russia has said that Ukraine was “not interested” in a long-term peace deal, accusing it of seeking security guarantees incompatible with Russia’s demands.
“The Ukrainian regime and its representatives comment on the current situation in a very specific way, directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference on Thursday.
Lavrov also repeated Russia’s policy that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy – but only after key issues have previously been worked out by senior officials in what could be a long negotiating process.
His comments came as Zelenskyy announced he could meet with Putin, but only after his allies agree to security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops.
