Filenews 25 February 2022
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today assured that the aim of his country's invasion of Ukraine is to "liberate" Ukrainians "from oppression", while adding that he does not consider it likely that Moscow will recognize the current Ukrainian principles as democratic.
"President Putin has taken the decision for this special military operation of demilitarization, de-Nazi-isation, to free themselves from this oppression, the Ukrainians will be able to freely choose their future," Lavrov added during his meeting with officials from the ailing Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine.
At the same time, the Russian minister rejected the statements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has indicated that he is ready to discuss a neutrality regime for his country and added that Moscow is ready for talks as soon as the Ukrainian army stops fighting.
