MINSK, October 26. /TASS/. Moscow has not sought to avoid looking at serious proposals that could ease Russia’s confrontation with Ukraine and the West, but there have been no serious proposals worthy of consideration, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

While speaking to journalists in Minsk, Lavrov was asked what was needed to lower the degree of confrontation. "The first priority now is probably not to relax, not to let them defeat us," Lavrov said, while also emphasizing that Moscow was not seeking to evade talks. "We never avoid serious proposals; it's just that no serious proposals have been forthcoming since the Anglo-Saxons thwarted [Moscow‘s preliminary agreement with Kiev] in April 2022. <...> If it’s [to be resolved on] the battlefield, then let it be so," the top diplomat noted.

"We know that the West keeps pushing the Kiev regime to continue the war. And if we are talking about negotiations, then let [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky cancel the decree that he signed a year ago, banning himself and all of his officials from negotiating" with Russia, Lavrov said.