Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to a question from the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin programme, Moscow, May 19, 2024

Sergey Lavrov: It’s high time for the Kiev regime to accept the reality “on the ground.” I hope that this message, which was repeated many times, will be heeded and the West will understand that it’s time to stop sacrificing Ukraine to its absolutely hopeless goals.

Question: President of France Emmanuel Macron made a surprising statement, saying that he is afraid that if Russia wins then the Russian military infrastructure will be closer to Europe and Russian missiles will be closer to Europe. However, President Vladimir Putin has been saying for 20 years that Western infrastructure is approaching us. And the West told us not to worry and relax. What would you advise the West now?

Sergey Lavrov: If they can, let them relax too. We know very well what we are capable of, including in terms of all possible scenarios for the further development of the situation in Ukraine.