Russia recognises Zelenskyy as Ukraine's legitimate prez, aim is to 'denazify' country: Russian diplomat
India Today
Russia-Ukraine war news update: In an interview on Wednesday, Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said his country "recognises [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy as Ukraine's legitimate president".
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country "recognises [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy as Ukraine's legitimate president", while emphasising that Russia's only aim is to "demilitarise" Ukraine.
Speaking during an interview on Wednesday, Lavrov said Russia recognises Zelenskyy as Ukraine's legitimate president. However, Lavrov said, "he [Zelenskyy] lied to the people" with his promise to end the country's civil war.
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Lavrov also accused Zelenskyy of promoting "anti-Russian, Russophobe" rhetoric.
"Zelenskyy has been promoting "anti-Russian, Russophobe" rhetoric and making extremely controversial statements, Lavrov was quoted by Russian media as saying in an interview on Wednesday.
Emphasising that the goal of Russia's "military operation" is to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine, Lavrov said the Ukrainians "must have a say in this matter".
Once Ukraine is demilitarised, "the Ukrainians must decide themselves how they will live," Lavrov said in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera TV channel. "All people living in Ukraine must have a say in this matter," he said.