The United States does not allow Ukraine to agree to the conditions put forward by Russia in the negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Saturday.
According to Lavrov, the dialogues have improved, but the United States can "hold the hand" of the Ukrainian delegation. At the same time, the minister expressed hope that the military operation would end with a comprehensive agreement on the neutral status of Ukraine with security guarantees for it, RT reported.
Commenting on the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Lavrov noted that these events were the culmination of the course that the West has pursued against Russia since the early 1990s.
Lavrov also noted that statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he does not support neo-Nazis are at odds with his real actions.
"To my great regret and shame, President Zelensky declares that how can he be a Nazi when he is of Jewish origin, and he says this exactly on the days when Ukraine defiantly withdraws from the agreement on the protection of monuments of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War - such an agreement within the framework of the CIS existed," Lavrov said.
The minister added that when Zelensky patronises such trends, it becomes "difficult to take the policies of the Ukrainian leadership seriously".