Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that multiple Western leaders had approached him about potential negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying the Kremlin is ready for dialogue so long as it respects Moscow's core interests.

Speaking alongside his Belarusian counterpart, Sergey Aleinik, on Friday, Lavrov told reporters that some Western powers were increasingly interested in a negotiated settlement, though declined to single out any country by name."I do not want to and I have no right to name names, but a number of high-level, well-known leaders of Western countries, including one specific Western leader, a very well-known one, several times… at least via three different channels of communication, sent signals as to why don't we meet and talk about what to do with Ukraine and with European security," he said.