Lavrov: No Ceasefire With Ukraine Possible, Elections Won't Halt Fire

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated plainly last week that no ceasefire with Ukraine is possible. He said Kyiv should not even hope that hostilities will be halted because of a Ukrainian presidential election. The statement bears on the question of whether fighting in Ukraine could be paused so that a vote can take place.

Lavrov's remarks were one of the topics of the video programme "Aiz priekškara" ("Behind the Curtain") on the Latvian news site Apollo.lv. The programme's title also refers to other themes: a claim that Russians are allowed to do anything, and a description of US President Donald Trump as a Russian resource. The available source text does not elaborate on these claims.

The source gives no further details on the circumstances of Lavrov's statement or on how Ukraine has responded.