France, Aug. 21 -- As NATO defence ministers met during a virtual get-together,Russia said it had to be part of any discussion on security guarantees for Ukraine and downplayed the likelihood of an imminent summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tempering hopes for a quick peace deal.

NATO military chiefs held a virtual summit on security guarantees for Ukraine Wednesday, the latest in a flurry of global diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict.

"On #Ukraine, we confirmed our support. Priority continues to be a just, credible and durable peace," the chair of the alliance's military committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, wrote on X after the meeting.

Russia's Foreign Minister Serge...