All those who are interested in promoting the settlement in Ukraine should realize that the main thing in this issue is the protection of people's rights and not "territorial swaps," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, Paralel.Az reports citing TASS.

"It is not a question of where to meet, in what circle, but what to discuss. If we discuss calls for a ceasefire and think about territorial swaps, it is not serious, because, I repeat, the problem is not territories, the problem is people's rights, which have been trampled on by legislation and which are not explicitly mentioned in any of the initiatives floating in the political space so far," the top Russian diplomat said after participating in the meeting of the Strategic Dialogue between Russia and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC).

"We are protecting people, and everyone who in one way or another is interested in contributing to the settlement should conceptualize it and make it a direct part of their practical work," the Russian minister added.

At the same time, the top diplomat pointed out that it is easy to agree on the place and time of the negotiations on Ukraine, but first it is necessary to understand what will be discussed. "If we see a serious readiness to protect human rights, which the West always proudly displays on its banners on any issue, but not on this one, if we see such readiness, I am convinced that we will easily agree on the place and time of the meeting. But first we need to understand what we are going to discuss," Lavrov emphasized.