Moscow, Mar 16 (IANS): Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are not easy, but there is some hope for a compromise, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"I am guided by the assessments given by our negotiators. They state that the negotiations are not going well for obvious reasons," Lavrov said in an interview with RBC, RT reported.

However, according to him, there is some hope for a compromise.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia's goal in negotiations with Kiev has not changed - Moscow needs a peaceful, free, neutral and independent Ukraine, and an "agreement for generations" is needed.

"We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral – not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO, a country that is our friend, neighbour, with which we are developing relations together, building our future, and which is not a springboard for military and economic attacks against our country," he said.

Medinsky also explained why negotiations with Ukraine began to take place online.

"Three face-to-face rounds of negotiations took place in Belarus, but we looked - since the logistics are very difficult, in order to save time, effort and money, we decided to avoid flights to Belarus with overnight stays and limit ourselves to daily work from morning to evening in the video conference format," he said.