Russia is committed to working to prevent a nuclear war ever beginning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an Italian television interview today.
"Western media misrepresent Russian threats," Mr Lavrov said, speaking in Russian through an Italian interpreter.
"Russia has never interrupted efforts to reach agreements that guarantee that a nuclear war never develops," he said.
Mr Lavrov also said the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish does not negate Nazi elements in Ukraine and he believes Adolf Hitler also had Jewish blood.
The Russian minister told Italian TV that the US has fomented Ukrainian hostility to Russia as part of a long-standing "anti-Russian" strategy.
The upcoming anniversary of Russia's liberation at the end of World War II will have no bearing on Moscow's military operations in Ukraine, the foreign minister said.
"Our soldiers won't base their actions on a specific date," Sergei Lavrov said when asked whether the 9 May anniversary would mark a turning point in the conflict.
"We'll commemorate our victory in a solemn manner but the timing and speed of what is happening in Ukraine will hinge on the need to minimise risks for civilians and Russian solders," he added, speaking in Russian through an Italian interpreter.
