 West secretly urging Russia-Ukraine talks? Lavrov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei 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 Sergei Alyenik, 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. Lavrov added that Russia is always ready to discuss these issues seriously, but suggested that Kiev has been the unwilling party saying we have never rejected the negotiations and this question should not be addressed to us. However, the Foreign Minister stressed that any talks would have to account for Russia's legitimate interests and must mean putting an end to attempts to build one's own security at the expense of others, referring to Ukraine's efforts to join the NATO bloc.