Russian diplomat says NATO instructors must leave Ukraine before talks can start

FILE PHOTO: Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the NATO logo and Russian flag colours background in this illustration taken, February 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A senior Russian diplomat said on Friday that talks on security guarantees for Russia cannot take place while NATO instructors and "mercenaries" remain in Ukraine, and while Western arms supplies to the country continue.

In an interview with Russian state-owned news agency TASS, Alexander Darchiev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North America department, said talks would be premature "until the flood of weapons and financing for the (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy regime stops, American and NATO servicemen/mercenaries/instructors are withdrawn".