Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the time has come for negotiations, whether we like it or not, as he put it, after more than 10 months have passed since the war his country is waging in Ukraine.
Lavrov added in a press conference in Moscow that the West has lost its credibility as a partner in political and economic relations, and made it clear that everyone will soon witness a significant decline in its ability to lead the world.
Lavrov accused Washington of pushing the world to take a hostile stance against Russia, pointing out that Moscow needs some time to be able to abandon the dollar.
Yesterday, Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country "is ready to negotiate with all parties to the Ukrainian conflict about acceptable solutions, but it is up to them. We are not the ones who refuse to negotiate, but they are the ones who reject it."
This is not the first time that the Russian leadership has talked about the possibility of negotiating a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, which has been going on for 10 months. However, Kyiv insists that it will accept negotiations and end the fighting only when the Russian forces withdraw from what it describes as the "occupied areas".