MARIUPOL, November 1. /TASS/. The Kiev regime, contrary to its rhetoric, responds to any attempts at a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with terror, Russian Foreign Ministry's Ambassador-at-Large for the Crimes of the Kiev Regime Rodion Miroshnik said on the sidelines of the third Mercury 2025 Forum of Young Diplomats.

"Any attempt at a political and diplomatic solution to find a settlement - Kiev, on the one hand, declares in its rhetoric how they strive for peace, on earth they demonstrate the exact opposite," he told TASS. "They give the command to intensify attacks, to use prohibited weapons, to directly target the local population, to create conditions unacceptable for their existence."

According to Miroshnik, such actions are "a direct and understandable response to any peace initiatives proposed by the international community, and this is Zelensky's reaction. This is why their statements about the desire for peace are fake, and what is happening on earth is true."

The III Mercury-2025 Forum of Young Diplomats is organized by the representative office of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Donetsk in cooperation with the Legatus Youth Diplomacy Center. This year, almost 300 participants from 20 countries took part in it. The purpose of the event is to bring together young specialists in the field of international relations from both the regions of Russia and foreign countries.