The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to Ukraine's proposal to hold talks in Mariupol. They dismissed such an initiative as a "theatrical gesture". This was reported by The Guardian.

According to the newspaper, when asked about the prospects for negotiations in Mariupol, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it was a "theatrical gesture" from Ukraine, and the Ukrainians thus "wanted to stage another tearful scene."

Lavrov also reiterated Russia's claim that it was still waiting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to respond to its proposals, which were allegedly handed over to Kiev 10 days ago.

"If we are talking about a serious attitude to work within the framework of the negotiations, it would be better if they responded to our proposals, which have been on their side for more than 10 days, and which, as it turns out, Zelensky has not even heard of," he said.

It should be noted that recently the deputy commander of the Azov regiment Svyatoslav "Kalina" Ponomar in his video message said that the advisor to the head of the Office of the President Michael Podolyak and MP David Arahamiya are ready to hold talks with the Russian Federation in Mariupol.