Lavrov: "We’re ready for talks, but we will continue operation in Ukraine"

"Russia is ready for talks but intends to continue the military operation in Ukraine," Report’s Russian bureau reports, citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Currently, the military operation is underway. The goals of the operation have been clearly defined. These are the demilitarization, denazification of Ukraine and the guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO," the foreign minister said.

"We are ready to negotiate. Our Ukrainian colleagues know our position. We have been promised that they will present their positions at the next stage of the talks. We are ready for talks, but we will continue our operation because we cannot allow the infrastructure in Ukraine to remain, which threatens Russia's security," he said.