MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. It is time for the Kiev regime to recognize the realities on the ground and for the West to stop sacrificing Ukraine for its futile goals, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"It is time for the Kiev regime to recognize the realities on the ground. I hope that this message, which has been repeated many times, will be understood, and the West will realize that it is time to stop sacrificing Ukraine for its absolutely futile goals," he said in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," a fragment of which was published by journalist Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel.

Lavrov also advised the West to relax. "We understand perfectly well the possibilities that we have, including all cases of development of the situation around Ukraine," he added.

The conversation with the top Russian diplomat took place on the sidelines of the state visit of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to China on May 16-17.