Russia claims France proposed Ukraine war dialogue without Kyiv's involvement

He made this statement in an interview with Russian and foreign media, as reported by Kommersant.

"Several times, our French colleagues made closed-door appeals: let us help, let us start a dialogue on the Ukrainian issue. And, by the way, without Ukraine — just a dialogue about Ukraine. This supposedly violates the principle the West constantly preaches: 'not a word about Ukraine without Ukraine,'" Lavrov said.

However, the Russian Foreign Minister did not provide any evidence of this.

According to him, Russia welcomes such an initiative but remains unsure of "the outcome of these efforts and how sincere the desire to play a constructive role is."

Lavrov also noted that France trains Ukrainian soldiers on its territory and supports sending a European contingent to Ukraine.

"Such contradictory behavior doesn’t inspire confidence in the initiatives of our French colleagues," he added.

• On December 26, Lavrov also declared that a ceasefire in Ukraine is "a road to nowhere" and insisted Moscow needs "final legal agreements" to guarantee its security.