Russia-Ukraine Talks Have Stalled, Lavrov Says

Talks between Moscow and Kyiv to put an end to Russia’s near two-month military campaign in pro-Western Ukraine have stalled, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

“They (negotiations) have stalled now,” he said after talks with his Kazakh counterpart in Moscow, adding that Russia has still not received an answer to a latest proposal sent around five days ago.

The Russian foreign minister also said he was under the impression Kyiv may not want to continue the talks.

“It is very strange for me to hear every day statements by various Ukrainian representatives, including the president and his advisers, that make one think that they do not need these negotiations at all, that they have resigned themselves to their fate,” Lavrov added.

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who is Russia’s chief negotiator with Kyiv authorities, said however that he had spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday.

Talks have continued since early in the fighting but offered no concrete results.

Kyiv said last week that negotiations with Russia to end the war were “extremely difficult”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to EU chief Charles Michel earlier Friday, accused Kyiv of lacking consistency in its demands at the talks and not being ready “to look for mutually acceptable solutions”, the Kremlin said.

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