Lavrov warned the West against calling for a ceasefire for a "respite"

Russia is concerned about the Western discourse on the need to achieve a cease-fire in Ukraine for a "respite", which is not the way to peace, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó in Moscow on 2 December. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this at a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó in Moscow on December 2.

"We are concerned about what we are now hearing, more and more often lately, in the West: in Brussels, in London, in Paris, in Washington, they are starting to talk about a ceasefire as a means of giving Ukraine a break and giving themselves the opportunity to pump this Ukraine again with modern long-range weapons. This is certainly not the way to peace," he said.

For his part, the Hungarian foreign minister said that efforts to settle the situation in Ukraine should be intensified at the moment because of the increased risk of escalation.

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On 29 November, the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) pointed to NATO's desire to freeze the conflict in Ukraine in order to rebuild the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). It was noted that the West plans to use the temporary freezing of the conflict to restore the Ukrainian army and prepare for a future offensive.

Before that, on November 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said that freezing the conflict in Ukraine was not suitable for Russia. At the same time, he noted that the head of state Vladimir Putin was ready for contacts and negotiations.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the worsening situation in the region.