MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators should be given a chance to work in a calmer situation, without hysteria being fanned, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the RBC TV channel in an interview.

"I would let the negotiators work in a calmer situation, without fanning hysteria again," Lavrov said in the wake of the Ukrainian side’s latest statements about progress in the talks.

The first round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations was held in the Gomel Region of neighboring Belarus on February 28. It lasted five hours. The second round followed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus on March 3. The delegates met for a third time in the Brest Region of Belarus on March 7. And on March 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba held a meeting on the sidelines of the diplomatic forum in Turkey’s Antalya. More talks between Moscow and Kiev followed on Monday by video link. Later, the talks were paused to resume on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He said Moscow had no plans for an occupation of Ukrainian territories. The sole purpose is the country’s demilitarization and denazification.