Russian officials rarely give interviews to U.S. media outlets, but we were able to speak with

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exclusively from Moscow on April 24th.

Before the cameras rolled, his communications team suggested that we asked him to keep his answer

short. He made the point throughout the interview that he was trying to do just that.

I want to ask you about what happened in Kiev.

There was a large Russian attack on that capital city about 1 o'clock in the morning.

President Trump has said publicly,

the Russian strikes are not necessary and very bad timing. Vladimir stop was his quote.

What made it worth killing civilians when Ukraine says it's ready for a ceasefire?

We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military. President Putin expressed this for so many

times, and this is not different this time as well. We never consciously target civilian sites,

unlike the Zelensky regime.

So was this an intentional attack then? Not a mistake?

If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them.

So just to be clear, when the President of the United States says Vladimir stop, is this a rejection of that request?

Was the assessment that because of what you say regarding the concerns that this loss of civilian life made it worth it?

Well, I can assure you that the target attacked was not something absolutely civilian like a TV center in Belgrade in 1999. This was an intentional attack against civilian target.

In our case, we only target those sites which are used by the military.

And regarding the ceasefire and regarding the call to stop, President Putin immediately supported President Trump's proposal

a few weeks ago to establish a 30-day ceasefire, provided, provided. We do not repeat mistakes

of the last 10 years when deals were signed and then Ukraine

would violate those deals with the support and with encouragement from Biden administration

...