MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Europe is trying to establish contacts with Russia on Ukraine through various channels, saying nothing new in contrast to public statements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Some of our European neighbors are trying to establish contacts through various channels. To be honest, we are not receiving anything new through these channels compared to what the relevant countries are saying publicly," the top diplomat told the NTV TV channel in an interview.

Lavrov pointed out that the statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during their previous contacts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin were consistent with their public statements. "They were in line with their loud public statements that Russia had attacked, demands that Russia should stop the war, that they should defend Ukraine to the last, until ‘defeat’. By conveying such messages during their contacts, they tried to take on the role of mediator," the foreign minister added.