(Reuters) – Russia sees “no desire on the part of Ukraine” to try to find a legitimate and balanced solution to the problems between the two countries, Gennady Gatilov, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told Lebanese television in an interview aired on Tuesday.
Gatilov said Russia “supports diplomacy based on respect for the positions of all countries and equality, but for now we don’t see that”, the Russian news agency RIA quoted him as saying in the interview.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held a first round of talks on Monday following Russia’s invasion of its neighbour on Feb. 24, but made no substantial progress, merely agreeing to meet again. No date was set for a second round.
(Writing by Kevin Liffey in London; Editing by Chris Reese)
