Lavrov says they're close to deal with Ukraine, reveals some details

However, he told the newspaper RBC that there are other important issues still being discussed, including the use of Russian language in Ukraine and “freedom of the word”, Reuters reports.

He added that Russia sees no “signs of” that the US is interested in resolving the conflict.

The United States has a crucial role in determining the position of the Ukrainian authorities, but “sot, we see no interest in the United States in quickly solving this” conflict, Lavrov said.

This comes after Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told the Interfax news agency that the talks with Ukraine are difficult and slow, but Russia “particularly” wants peace as soon as possible.

“Negotiations are difficult, they're going slowly. Of course, we would like everything to happen much faster, that's a sincere desire of the Russian side. We want to reach peace as soon as possible”, Medinsky said.

“We need a peaceful, free, independent, neutral ʹ not a member of military blocks, not a NATO member”, he added.