Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Western countries of trying to “block” peace negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict. This follows a flurry of diplomatic activity which appeared to stall the progress.  Russia has blamed Western countries for not wanting the talks to come through. In an interview with state TV station Rossiya,  Mr. Lavrov said, they are just looking for a pretext to block negotiations.

Mr Lavrov also slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for obstinately insisting, setting conditions, demanding an immediate meeting at all costs with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr. Lavrov accused Ukrainian authorities of attempts to disrupt the process that was laid down by Presidents Putin and President Trump, which, he said, has yielded very good results.