Russian Foreign Minister: NATO is really fighting on the side of Ukraine

"Once again, we want to talk about the destructive course of NATO countries, which have been drawn into the conflict for a long time and are getting bogged down in it more and more. In my opinion, they are actually waging war on the side of the Kiev government," he said at a press conference after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photo: Tass

"Such statements were recently recorded by our colleague, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when he stated that now the ceasefire would be beneficial to the Russian Federation, and that this cannot happen. It is difficult for me to understand what these, frankly, shallow analyses are based on. The only assumption is that the West does not want to stop this war, seeing its geopolitical interests in the war, primarily because of its efforts to eliminate another competitor on the world stage - the Russian Federation," Lavrov stressed.

Responding to a question about how the Kremlin assesses the prospects for ending hostilities and whether the special military operation will end this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "These assessments should be made by experts dealing with special military operations - the Defense Ministry."

"If you mean a war in its broadest sense, a confrontation with hostile states, unfriendly states, a hybrid war that they have waged against our country, then it will last. And here we need steadfastness, confidence, clarity of purpose, and solidarity with the President," Mr. Peskov concluded./.