MOSCOW

Commenting on a skirmish between delegations of Moscow and Kyiv in a meeting in Ankara on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Ukraine "does everything so that no one wants to deal with it."

Commenting on an incident in Ankara on Thursday, when a Ukrainian lawmaker attacked a Russian representative, Lavrov said: "(Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and his team are doing everything both in the media space and in their practical steps so that any self-respecting country does not want to communicate with them.

"This is indeed the case, and we understand that awareness of this is maturing."

The incident took place at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

The Ukrainian delegation tried to hinder the address of the Russian representatives, against which it was warned by the head of the Turkish parliament, Mustafa Sentop.

The Ukrainians then unfolded their flag behind the back of a Russian lawmaker who was speaking on air. Another Russian lawmaker, Valery Stavitsky, took away the flag, for which he was attacked by a member of the delegation of Ukraine, Alexander Markovsky.

The conflict was stopped by Turkish security, and Stavitsky was hospitalized following the incident.