Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western nations and the Ukrainian government of undermining peace negotiations, saying Kyiv “remains obstinate and sets preconditions,” while “the West seeks excuses to derail the process.”

He noted that efforts initiated by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had “yielded positive results,” but President Volodymyr Zelensky refuses to meet Putin without security guarantees from his allies, as Moscow insists that any security arrangement must include Russia itself.