Kiev not seeking peace, Zelensky tasked with escalating conflict — MFA

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. The Ukrainian authorities are not seeking peace, and the West has tasked Vladimir Zelensky with continuing the escalation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

Asked whether Moscow believes the recent increase in the Kiev regime's aggressive actions came after the US administration effectively abandoned the so-called "spirit of Anchorage," the diplomat noted that "the whole world has long grown accustomed" to contradictory statements from the American side. "Let's focus on our own assessment," she said.

"We have no illusions about the Kiev regime's genuine desire for peace. It has never had such a desire, primarily because the Kiev regime is not independent. When it is provided with money, weapons and political support, it is essentially being directed toward further warfare by those supplying all of this. Despite all the rhetoric about supposedly seeking a settlement, Zelensky is in fact trying to provoke further escalation. That is his task. That is the order he has been given," Zakharova said.