Lavrov is not playing Kiev’s gamesMoscow will rely on its ‘missile diplomacy’.We reported here on TGP about how Kiev regime leader Volodymyr Zelensky sent a public letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, ostensibly to ask for direct peace talks.But upon closer examination, the letter was a puerile provocation, offending and trying to ridicule Putin, and was destined to try to claim the higher moral ground in terms of peace efforts.Putin chose to respond not to Zelensky, but to the Russian soldiers: ‘rabotayte, brat’ya!’ (Work, brothers!)Putin responded to Zelensky’s letter. Western media won’t translate it for you, so I will.Putin’s response? He didn’t even address Zelensky. He spoke directly to the Russian army and told them to keep advancing.Because you don’t negotiate with someone who usurped power and… pic.twitter.com/DuAv6uaJdl— Rina Lu (@rinalu_) June 7, 2026Today (8), Russia’s Foreign Minister also criticized Zelensky’s PR move, labeling it rude.Lavrov rejected the possibility of direct talks with Kiev, saying ‘guns will do the talking’.Euronews reported:“Sergey Lavrov specifically pointed out on Monday that Moscow is unhappy that the letter was ‘circulated around the world’, claiming that ‘polite people do not behave this way’.Lavrov also claimed that for the Kremlin it ‘indicates that Ukraine has no interest in negotiation’.[…] Russia’s foreign minister echoed Putin’s earlier statement that ‘it is not negotiations but the actions of those involved’ on the front lines of Russia’s war ‘that are crucial to the outcome’ of [the war].” “Zelensky’s letter to Putin shows that Ukraine doesn’t need negotiations” — Russia’s FM Sergey Lavrov“We are ready to have negotiations in a fair way” https://t.co/DRMLf9DY0M pic.twitter.com/eEAvgc1S3H— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 8, 2026Lavrov also demanded the full restoration of rights to Russian speakers in Ukraine as a central condition for a ‘long-term settlement’ of the conflict.Kyiv Post reported:“Moscow has regularly accused Kyiv of systematic discrimination against Ukraine’s Russian minority and Russian-speaking Ukrainians.[…] Lavrov repeated those accusations on Saturday in a video address posted to social media to mark Russian Language Day. ‘Among our absolute priorities are the protection and support of those for whom Russian is their native language’, Lavrov said. ‘We will continue to firmly oppose any manifestations of language discrimination and Russophobia-wherever they occur’. Singling out Ukraine, Lavrov said Russia would ‘certainly achieve’ the restoration of rights to Russian speakers, whom he claimed have been targeted by Ukrainians.”Read more:Top Kiev Negotiator Budanov Says Russia and Ukraine Are Moving Towards a Peace Deal To End 4-Year War/*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i