Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested to President Putin on Monday that Moscow maintain diplomatic efforts with Western capitals over their response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Guardian and Reuters report.
Lavrov said that Putin should continue speaking with the West, despite the talks thus far not being “satisfactory”.
Russia has demanded Ukraine be barred from joining NATO, something Kyiv and the West have flatly rejected. At the same time, Moscow has threatened “military-technical measures” if its demands are not met. There are currently around 150,000 Russian troops massed along the border of Ukraine.
