Russian president Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister has claimed Russia was “ready” for peace talks before Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said the chances of negotiating a deal with Ukraine had been “ruined and sabotaged” when Kyiv turned the tables on Moscow three weeks ago and breached Russian borders.

According to state news agency TASS, he said: “We always remember that President Putin made the latest peace proposal in June, after all previous initiatives and agreements were ruined and sabotaged by the Kyiv........

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