MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow remained committed to the demilitarisation of Ukraine and there should be a list of specified weapons that could never be deployed on Ukrainian territory.
“Specific types of strike weapons must be identified which will never be deployed in Ukraine and will not be created,” Lavrov said in an interview with Al Jazeera, the text of which was published on his ministry’s website.
Lavrov said Russia recognised President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as Ukraine’s leader and welcomed as a “positive step” the fact that Zelenskiy wanted to receive security guarantees.
“Our negotiators are ready for the second round of discussing these guarantees with Ukrainian representatives,” he said.
Zelenskiy said in an interview on Tuesday that Russia needed to halt its bombing of Ukraine before further talks could take place. He called for security guarantees, but from NATO and not from Russia.
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Mark Heinrich)
