Russian Foreign Minister Says Russia Is Willing to Talk If Ukraine Army ‘Lays Down Arms,’ Wants to ‘Free Ukraine from Oppression’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow is willing to hold talks if Ukraine’s military ‘lays down arms,’ adding that they want to free the country from “oppression.” Russian President Vladimir Putin “decided to conduct a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine so that, liberated from oppression, Ukrainians themselves could freely determine their future,” Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.

Ukraine’s president said on Friday that his country was left to fight Russia on its own after the Kremlin launched a large-scale invasion that killed 130 Ukrainians on the first day. “We have been left alone to defend our state,” Volodymyr Zelensky said after midnight in a video address to the nation. “Who is willing to fight alongside us?” There is no one in sight. Who is willing to guarantee Ukraine’s NATO membership? “Everyone is terrified,” he added.

According to Zelensky, 137 Ukrainians, both military and civilians, have been killed since the attack began early Thursday. Another 316 people had been injured, he said.

Zelensky also claimed that Russian “sabotage groups” had infiltrated the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and urged residents to remain vigilant and adhere to a curfew. Despite Russia’s designation of him as “target number one,” the president and his family remained in Ukraine. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by assassinating the president,” Zelensky said.

India has developed close ties with Washington but has a long-standing close relationship with Moscow. The 15-member United Nations Security Council, of which India is a member, is likely to vote on Friday. Draft resolution would condemn Russia for invading Ukraine and require Moscow to withdraw. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday.