Moscow/Kyiv: Moscow is prepared to find a peaceful settlement to the Ukraine crisis while the West is not ready for sincere diplomatic dialogues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
Western countries are attempting to do everything possible to control Kiev through their ultimatums, Lavrov said during a roundtable discussion on Ukraine with ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy.
The West and its allies view Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s peace formula as the only negotiating proposal, he said.
Lavrov further said that NATO specialists were providing Kiev with reconnaissance data to help identify targets deep within Russian territory, including civilian infrastructure.
On the latest development of the conflict, Lavrov said Russian forces were continuing to push Ukrainian troops out of Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine.
Early Thursday, 14 civilians were injured as Russia struck Ukraine’s northeastern city of Konotop with combat drones, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.
Seven apartment buildings, a private residence, a bank, and healthcare and educational institutions were damaged in the attack, it said, Xinhua news agency reported.
The attack was part of a broader overnight assault, in which Russia launched a barrage of 64 combat drones and five missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
Also on Thursday, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet over the Black Sea.
–IANS