BEIJING, September 8. /TASS/. The Russian side sees its goal as a long-term settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, where a ceasefire would be a technical stage in a list of sequential steps, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said at the Russian Cultural Center in the Chinese capital.

He noted that Kiev is calling for the introduction of a ceasefire regime only to gain a pause and prepare for the next stage of escalation. "And this is emotional manipulation - 'let's introduce a ceasefire because it hurts, because we want to, because everyone wants peace.' They are trying to pass one thing off as another," the diplomat emphasized.

"Russia advocates for a long-term peaceful settlement of the conflict. And a ceasefire regime is only a technicality that can be used to carry out certain actions. Therefore, in my opinion, it is more rational, of course, to talk about when it will be possible to reach an agreement on a peaceful settlement that will include the entire set of steps aimed at achieving precisely the goal that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has repeatedly spoken about," the ambassador concluded.