JUST IN: Russia Gives Ukraine Condition For Ceasefire

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the Russian military operation in Ukraine will only stop if its military will lay down its arms.

Lavrov disclosed this during a press briefing where he insisted that invading forces were looking to free the Ukraine from “oppression”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “took the decision to conduct a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine so that, freed from oppression, Ukrainians themselves could freely determine their future.

“We are ready for negotiations at any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to our call and lay down their arms,” Lavrov said.

He said the aim of Putin’s operation was “openly declared: demilitarisation and de-Nazification”.

He denied Ukrainian claims that Russian forces had hit civilian infrastructure, despite widespread evidence of residential areas being damaged.

Earlier, a Russian ambassador to Canada had said that economic sanctions from Western nations led by the United States will have no effect on Russia’s action in Ukraine.

The US, however, believes otherwise.

US President Joe Biden, in a national address on Thursday, maintained that the wide range of sanctions against Russia is working and will negatively affect Putin in the long run.

Former US president Barack Obama agrees with Biden on the recent sanctions on Russia but noted that the negative effect will spread to other countries.

“There may be some economic consequences to such sanctions, given Russia’s significant role in world energy markets. But that’s a price we should be willing to pay to take a stand on the side of freedom,” Obama stated on Facebook page on Thursday.