Lavrov called the refusal of the EU ambassadors from the meeting on Ukraine a disgrace.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, May 15, that the refusal of all the ambassadors of the European Union (EU) member states to come to a meeting with him and participate in an open discussion on Ukraine was a shameful act.

"We have invited all the ambassadors of the European Union and the representative of the European Council to a special meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to talk about Ukraine and ask any questions. And they collectively refused," he said during a meeting of the Diplomatic Club.

Lavrov stressed that meetings with European ambassadors are extremely rare and relate to a very limited range of issues. The minister pointed out that such a refusal to participate in the discussion of the Ukrainian problem is a disgrace for any diplomat. He added that there are currently no contacts with them.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin soon in Istanbul. What the media is writing

On the same day, Lavrov called the current events with the negotiations of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul an intrigue. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Russian delegation had arrived in Istanbul for discussions with Kiev and was ready for serious work.

On May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated direct negotiations, inviting the Ukrainian side to resume dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul.

Later, the Russian leader approved the composition of experts for negotiations with Ukraine. The delegation was headed by Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation. In addition, the head of state held a meeting on the preparation of the upcoming negotiations.