Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow wouldn't stop hitting Ukraine's military infrastructure as a precondition to peace talks.
The big picture: Lavrov said Russia had submitted demands to Ukraine's delegation but added it would see out the war until "the end," per Reuters.
- Lavrov accused NATO of seeking to maintain military supremacy over Russia and said Moscow will insist on provisions that would prevent Ukraine from becoming a military threat, per AP.
- He also claimed that Russia had no intentions of starting a nuclear war, despite provocative messaging from the Kremlin over the past week.
What he's saying: "We are ready to conduct talks, but we will continue the operation because we won’t allow Ukraine to preserve a military infrastructure that threatens Russia," Lavrov said, per AP.
- "The thought of nuclear is constantly spinning in the heads of Western politicians but not in the heads of Russians," he added, according to a translation from Reuters. "I assure you that we will not allow any kind of provocation to unbalance us."
Lavrov also acknowledged a toll on Ukrainian civilians, saying "any military action is fraught with casualties, and not just among the military but also civilians."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with an additional quote from Lavrov.
