Russia says it will not participate in negotiations until Ukraine stops fighting

MOSCOW – Russia on Friday rejected talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and made clear that it was seeking to overthrow his democratically elected government, which Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov believed to be driven by “neo-fascism” and the West.

“We do not see the possibility of being recognized as a democracy when a government represses and uses genocidal methods against its own people,” Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

Moscow also vowed that the conflict would end soon.

The head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, said in a short speech broadcast on Russian state television: “Russia cannot let Ukraine become a dagger higher than us. in the hands of Washington. “The special military operation will restore peace in Ukraine in the short term and prevent a potentially larger conflict in Europe.”

Russian propaganda falsely claims that the “new Nazis” that control the Ukrainian government are causing a genocide against Russian-speaking people in the country. President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday said the aim of Russia’s attack on Ukraine was to demilitarize and “demilitarize” Ukraine, and Mr. Lavrov repeated those terms on Friday, making It is clear that Russia is seeking to form a new government in Kyiv.

“What we are talking about is to stop the Nazis and those who promote genocidal methods from dominating this country,” Lavrov said. “Currently, the regime located in Kyiv is subject to two mechanisms of external control: first, the West, led by the United States, and second, neo-Nazi.”

Lavrov said Russia would be ready to hold talks only if Ukraine stopped fighting.

“We are ready to negotiate at any time, as soon as the Armed Forces of Ukraine answer the call of our president to stop the resistance and lay down their arms,” ​​Lavrov said.

He also stated that Russia is not bombing civilian targets and that it is trying to limit casualties for the Ukrainian army.

“No strikes against civil infrastructure are being made,” he said. “No strikes have been made on positions of Ukrainian servicemen in dormitories or other places unrelated to military facilities.”

The United Nations on Friday said hostilities in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion had caused at least 127 civilian casualties, including 25 deaths, but it warned that the number could be higher. a lot of.