MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday there were no direct or indirect contacts between Russia and Ukraine in Antalya.

"No, as far as I know," he said in response to a question on whether there were contacts between Russia and Ukraine at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Commenting on the state of affairs around the Ukrainian settlement, the minister said the contradictory position of Ukraine’s leadership hinders the process.

He cited a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. "Immediately after this was announced by the Americans, the Zelenskyy administration said that 'NATO is not your business, we will not discuss territories, we need weapons and more weapons," he said.

"And all this happened during the discussion of the so-called peacekeeping operation. (Volodymyr) Zelensky said they don't need peacekeepers, they need fighters. The schizophrenia of these mutually exclusive statements is obvious," Lavrov added.

Turning to the relations between Moscow and Washington under the presidency of Donald Trump, Lavrov pointed out that the leader of the American administration "proposed returning to normalcy in order to halt this absurd frenzy that disgraces America's standing in global affairs."

"Yes, we're discussing bilateral relations, starting with the normalization of operations and the conditions under which our embassies function," he said.

Lavrov noted that during the tenure of former US President Barack Obama, diplomatic staff reductions began, and "five properties belonging to our diplomatic mission were seized, and they remain confiscated."

"Similarly, the Biden administration seized Russian assets," he said.

The present US leadership is "currently deliberating on how to handle this situation without setting a precedent," he said. "They're thinking about leaving the stolen funds untouched but spending the accrued interest to finance Ukraine. It's repulsive reasoning. It reveals that the neo-colonial mentality has never abandoned these individuals," he added.