Lavrov attributed Kiev's criticism of the negotiation format to indifference to Ukrainians.

If Kiev considers the current format of negotiations in Istanbul to be exhausted, this proves its disregard for Ukrainians. This was announced on July 15 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

He clarified that the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, called this format frivolous. According to Lavrov, as an argument, the Ukrainian leader stated that Kiev was not discussing anything except humanitarian issues, including the exchange of prisoners, the return of the bodies of dead and wounded soldiers.

"If they (the Kiev regime. They believe that this format has exhausted itself, which once again confirms their disregard for their own citizens," the minister said during a press conference following a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin.

According to him, the draft memoranda of Russia and Ukraine are opposite, but there is always an opportunity for dialogue. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Minister stressed that European leaders forbid Kiev to negotiate with Moscow.

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Why do Russia and the West have different positions on this issue?

Earlier in the day, Lavrov stressed that the SCO countries understand Russia's position on Ukraine, as well as the principles of conflict resolution. In addition, the Russian Foreign Minister noted that during the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, the Russian side once again confirmed its position on the settlement of the conflict.