Russia sees no point in a temporary ceasefire aimed at freezing the war in Ukraine, but wants a legally binding agreement for a lasting peace that would guarantee the security of both Russia and its neighbors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, quoted by Reuters.
"A ceasefire is a road to nowhere", Lavrov said, adding that Moscow suspects that such a weak ceasefire will simply be used by the West to rearm Ukraine.
"We need definitive legal agreements that would fix all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate interests of our neighbors," Lavrov stressed.
He added that Moscow wants the legal documents to be drafted in such a way as to guarantee "the impossibility of violating these agreements".
Lavrov said that the new Syrian leader had called relations with Russia "long-term" and "strategic" and that Moscow shared this assessment.
On Monday, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Russia was in contact with the new government in Syria, both at the diplomatic and military levels, Reuters recalls.
In addition, Lavrov said that Ukraine had repeatedly struck civilian targets in Russia using Western missiles and drones. Moscow would respond to these actions, the Russian foreign minister announced.
According to him, Russia strikes only military facilities and infrastructure and "it is not within our norms to strike civilian targets".