"It is time for Kiev ... to recognize the realities on the ground. I hope that this message, which has been repeated many times, will be understood, and the West will realize that it is time to stop sacrificing Ukraine for its absolutely futile goals," he said in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," a fragment of which was published by journalist Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel, TASS reported.
The conversation with the top Russian diplomat took place on the sidelines of the state visit of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to China on May 16-17.