News - Middle East: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is not giving up on the idea of peace talks with Kiev but the longer the negotiations are delayed, the harder it will be to come to terms.

Lavrov made the remarks on Sunday while speaking with the Rossiya 1 channel. He said the two warring sides need to start the talks as soon as possible.

“We don’t reject the negotiations; we’re not giving up on the negotiations” with Ukraine, Lavrov said. “Those who reject them must understand that the longer this process is delayed, the harder it will be to reach an agreement,” he added, in a veiled reference to the authorities in Kiev.

He pointed out that President Vladimir Putin had voiced the same stance on the peace talks earlier.

Kiev and Moscow have held intermittent peace talks since late February, days after Russia attacked its neighbor, but there had been little communication between them in recent weeks.

The previous rounds of talks had failed to produce a breakthrough, as both of the warring sides had refused to compromise on their respective red lines.

The two sides have not sat down at the negotiating table since the talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul late in March.