MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. The settings for Ukraine’s demilitarization are yet to be agreed on, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin clarified the position that Russia’s delegation has in the Belarus-hosted talks with Ukraine. Crimea is part of Russia. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics should be recognized within the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. There is a need for demilitarization and there should be settings for it, which are yet to be agreed on. No weapons that can threaten Russia’s security should remain there," Lavrov pointed out.

The Russian top diplomat also emphasized the need to ensure Ukraine’s denazification the way it had been done in Nazi Germany. "I once again urge you to watch the videos that are freely available, which show what freedom neo-Nazis enjoy in Ukraine when they march, carrying the portraits of war criminals. [Ukrainian] President Vladimir Zelensky sends his guards to hail them. There is much work to do," Lavrov noted. "Our armed forces, together with the militias of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, are using precision weapons to destroy only military infrastructure facilities as part of demilitarization efforts," he emphasized.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.