Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is ready for peace negotiations in Ukraine, but not for a ceasefire, Russian media reports.

“There is no point in giving the enemy a pause to regroup,” the foreign minister said. 

At the same time, Lavrov supported China's idea of a “peace conference” where Kyiv and Moscow would be represented.  

“As for China's idea to convene an international peace conference in a timely manner, which would ensure equal participation of Russia and Ukraine and discuss all existing peace initiatives, we regard it as a continuation of Beijing's efforts to create conditions for resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” the minister said.

But, according to him, it is “hard to imagine” a dialogue about peace now as the “party of war” in Ukraine seeks to defeat Russia on the battlefield, and the West continues to supply weapons. 

“We share the position that first of all it is necessary to eliminate its (the crisis) root causes, to ensure the legitimate interests of all parties with further reaching agreements based on the principle of equal and indivisible security. I emphasize once again: this implies respect for the realities that have developed “on the ground”, which reflect the will of the people living there,” said Sergei Lavrov.

In addition, he said that the Russian Federation perceives the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine from the point of view of their ability to carry nuclear weapons. Moscow sees the supply of such aircraft as “a deliberate signal action by NATO in the nuclear sphere.”

“They are trying to make it clear to us that Ukraine, the United States and NATO are ready for literally anything,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.