MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. The Pentagon is seeking to repeal a ban on funding for the Azov regiment (terror group, outlawed in Russia) from the US military budget, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Russian TV Wednesday.

"When the US Congress was approving its new military budget this year, lawmakers included a ban on any aid - military, material or weapons - to the Azov battalion or the Azov regiment, as they do every time. And every time, the Pentagon objects to this and seeks to have this ban removed from the US budget. That says a lot," Lavrov said.

US President Joe Biden signed the $858 billion defense budget for fiscal year 2023 on Friday. Previously, the bill was approved by Congress. The document provides for at least $800 million worth of military aid for Ukraine and $6 billion for an anti-Russian deterrence initiative in Europe.