Russia’s deputy foreign minister says talks must recognise ‘reality on the ground’

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees US relations and arms control, said on Monday that all of President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine must be met before any settlement is possible.

Ryabkov said the sooner the United States and the West understood that all of Putin’s conditions needed to be met, the sooner there would be a settlement.